There is neither past nor future There is only the Force
by Pureblood-Slytherins
Summary: Yuna, the child of Princess Leia Organa and Grand Admiral Thrawn, wakes up in the past. But what now? And how to get back? What if she changes history too much? And what about her parents in the future?


**There is neither past nor future. There is only the Force.**

**Back to the Past**

_How in the name of the Force had they managed to get in here? _The young girl asked herself while she ran through the seemingly endless hallways of the Galactic Senate. Without a doubt the Grysks expected her to run towards the main hanger, to get into one of the many ships and escape, but that was too obvious and there would be too many people. It would be a massacre. No, there was a far better option and she had no intention to die. The young girl almost slipped when she took one of the corners too sharply.

_How she hated them…_

They were on the capital! How had that happened? Why had nobody told her how serious the situation had become? For a second she wondered where her parents were. No, she had to concentrate on herself now. _Survival. Think of yourself before you think of others! _That's what they had told her a thousand times. Suddenly, she heard footsteps and blaster fire from behind. _Damn it! _They were quicker than expected!

She crashed to the floor, took off a small ventilation cover and then crawled inside the shaft. When she had been little, she had enjoyed crawling along these shafts for hours and while doing that she had found out that this one was particularly exciting, as there was a maintenance tunnel at its end, which let to an outdoor hatch. Her emergency exit. With some luck, she could make it. She crawled as fast as she could. If they had infrared vision she was screwed. The shaft was cold and the chilled air burned in her face and in her lungs. The frigid air turned the metal colder and colder the closer she got to the tunnel, hurting her hand when it made contact with the door. Thus, she shoved it open with her whole body and then climbed up. She could see the hatch. _Almost there._

It was already dark outside and in the night's sky, she could see the countless lights of Coruscant. Normally, she would have enjoyed the view, but now there was no time for that. Suddenly, she heard noises again. _Was that how they talked? _Then heavy footsteps again and blaster fire.

_Oh no. She was so close to the hatch already!_

A blaster bolt hit the tunnel right beside her.

_Force, help me!_

"Stop!" A heavily accented voice said. Slowly, she turned around and looked at her followers about 20 meters below her_._

"I hope you're not planning to simply let go now, girl."

She considered it. Dying might be better than becoming their prisoner. _No: She had to survive! _She tried to make out the beings' forms, which was rather difficult from so far above. They looked humanoid but horribly scarred and disfigured. Bold and ugly. These creatures looked downright scary_._

"Come down. Or we'll come up and get you." The leader yelled.

Her hands were shaking.

"What do you want?" Usually, the Grysks did not take prisoners.

"Revenge. Well, I had hoped you would run straight to your father, but you are a clever one, aren't you?" He laughed. "Oh yes, I know who you are."

"My father is not here!"

"No, but he WILL be. After all, you are his greatest treasure. His pride. His joy. And once we have your father, it will be MY pleasure to see him witnessing your death. And it will be slow and painful."

She was shaking. _They wanted to use her as bait and then kill her? _

Two of the creatures came up the ladder. _No, no!_

She started to climb up again. A race against time.

The creatures were faster. A lot faster.

_Oh no!_

_Force help me! Please!_

One of them grabbed her leg. She tried to free herself, then he pulled harder and her hand became loose.

As in slow motion, she felt herself falling. Past her attackers, down the high tunnel. That was it. She was going to die.

What about Slyther? Why on earth did she think of her Ysalamiri now? Her pet would live. She would not. _Think of yourself before you think of others! _

_When had everything started to go wrong? _How she wished she could change things... But now it was too late. Now she would become one with the great Force. Death was nothing, time was nothing, there was only the Force.

Then the world turned around her like a whirlwind, making her vision blurry and distorted. Then an unbearable pain, she wanted to scream and then….

...

"Can you hear me? I need some help here!" She heard a woman's voice.

"Girl? Can you hear me?"

She opened her eyes.

_Was this the Force? Or the afterlife?_ Somehow she had imagined it differently. And why did her head hurt? If you're dead you're not supposed to feel pain, right? She blinked and tried to take in her surroundings. The concussion and the adrenaline rush were fading. She took a deep breath, winced at the pain and then slowly sat up.

"Did you climb up that maintenance tunnel?" The woman asked. "You must have slipped."

The voice was nice and warm and….very familiar. She turned her head.

_What was going on here? Death? A Force vision? Or maybe the Grysks had drugged her?_

Her head hurt so much, it stretched from one temple to the other, right behind her dark, brown eyes. Her vision was still blurry, but then, after some time, she finally managed to open her eyes and looked at the woman.

She was dressed in white senatorial robes; was small and petite and had a kind face. Her skin was fair, but her eyes ….. She felt her stomach clench when she stared into those dark, brown eyes…..There was nothing. Like she had no idea who she was…

"Mum?"

Another sharp stab of pain tore through her and she was faintly aware of falling back, before the sweet oblivion of unconsciousness enveloped her once more.

"She's waking up."

There was a rustle of clothes as someone sat down next to her. Thankfully, she was feeling much better now and the headache was almost gone. What a crazy nightmare that had been! She turned her head towards the noise and opened her eyes. The face of her mother was looking back at her. Only that it was not her mother, she looked far too young to be her mother!

_Oh God, the nightmare was real! What was going on here?!_

Apparently, the confusion was written all over her face.

"Hush, little one. Everything is alright." A tall, dark-haired human with tanned skin and kind brown eyes said while leaning against a desk at the far end of the wall. That was - no it couldn't be – Bail Organa! Her mother's foster-father? _But he was dead!_

"Who are you?" Her mother asked.

The girl felt the colour drain from her face and her blood pounded in her ears.

"What's going on here?"

Her mind was working overtime and the headache started to return. She looked around while trying to grasp all the clues, putting them together like a puzzle in her head. Her mother looked far younger than she should, she had no idea who she was and Bail Organa wasn't dead. She pinched her left arm, just to make sure she wasn't asleep.

She had been falling down that tunnel, she had asked the Force to not let her die… Had the Force heard her plea? Had the Force somehow transported her back in time? But why? Was this even possible? She had never heard of anything like it. But the Force was strong in her family… So maybe it was true. She was in the past - or she was losing her mind. Chances were about 50-50.

She looked around. She knew where she was, the real question was.

"What day is today?"

Without looking up from his datapad, Bail gave her the answer and her limbs became numb from the shock. She was in the bloody past! This was a nightmare! What was she supposed to do now?

"Would you tell us your name, girl?"

Good question. Would she? Should she?

"Yuna." She said quietly.

"Hello, Yuna. My name is Leia Organa. That is my father, Bail. Can you remember your last name? Do you know where your parents are? They must be worried."

"No. I can't. It must have been the fall." She touched her head and smiled.

"I told you we should have brought her to a hospital right away," Bail said quietly and then sighed. "Do you think you can stand up?" Yuna nodded.

"Alright. I still have some work to do. Since you brought her here, Leia, I suggest you take her to a doctor."

"She seems to be in prime condition." Dr. Mallory said and checked her data.

"Everything looks fine, but she's a human hybrid so I'm not 100% sure. Actually, these readings are fascinating. I've never seen anything like it. Her bones are 20% denser than human bone and her temperature and metabolism is elevated too. She could have a fever, but I doubt it." She checked her forehead manually with her hand once more.

"At first I thought she would be Pandoran, but the blood sample I took doesn't match."

Yuna didn't bother to tell her the truth. And what difference would it make? It would only lead to more uncomfortable questions and she knew she wasn't sick. And she had other things to worry about.

"What now?" Her mother asked. "I searched for her parents, had them called out in the Senate and over the message board. But there is no answer."

The doctor waved her into the other room.

"Senator Organa, you have to consider the possibility that she has no parents. Here on Coruscant are many street kids. Maybe she sneaked inside with a school group and then made the whole concussion thing up."

The Princess looked through the observation window at the girl in the other room. She didn't look like a street kid. If anything she looked troubled and helpless and, for some unknown reason, she felt attached to her.

"And what should I do now? I just found her, lying on the floor. I have work to do and cannot look after her."

"We can keep her here overnight. Then protocol commands we call the Imperial Child Care Service. They take her in and then will try to find a foster family."

"What is the reputation of the Imperial Child Care Service?" Leia asked, feeling slightly uncomfortable.

"They do what they can. Some stories are good, some are not, like with all institutions." The young doctor looked at Yuna's file once more.

"But it will be hard to find someone for her. She is already too old. Most families look for younger children. And she is a hybrid. Everybody would immediately see that she's adopted. You know how people are."

Yes, she knew. Yuna was a pretty girl. 11 or 12, the Princess guessed, with dark black hair, light-blue skin and brown eyes. Her basic was flawless and she appeared to be rather quick for someone her age. Still, within the Empire non-humans were at a disadvantage. All the more reason to work for the Senate. To fight to rights of all beings, so that Yuna had the same chances in life than other children had.

"You will stay with doctor Mallory." She said later. "We have to make sure that you're alright. I'll come back tomorrow and check on you." Leia promised.

Yuna nodded but looked depressed.

"Hey, don't look so grim. Everything will be alright."

_Everything will be alright?! _Her mother really had no idea!

Yuna stared at the ceiling. It was night and the lights were out. Only the hospital's electrical equipment slightly lid up the room.

Her mother was a far cry from the woman she knew and only seven years older than she was! This was crazy! She was still a girl, a real-life princess that had no idea of what lay ahead of her and she would not tell her. Life for her mother would not be easy, but in the end that had made her the woman she was, a ruler, an Empress...

But that was still years in the future, now she didn't even know about the Force and her father, Lord Vader. Yuna shivered. Heaven help, Lord Vader and the Emperor were still alive here! She hadn't thought about that before. How scary. Darth Vader had tortured her mother, his own child! No, mother couldn't help her and she probably wouldn't believe her either, which left only one option: Dad. He was older than mum, and dad always knew what to do. He was already pretty powerful, wasn't he? Actually, she wasn't sure. But it didn't matter. Dad would believe her! Dad was logical and she could prove that she was his daughter! And then he would somehow fix things and bring her back. Yes, she had to find her father!

**TBC**

**A/N: **Puhh.. a fanfiction that has the potential of running for years. I'm not sure how happy I am with that, but I always wanted to try something like that. Well, if you like it so, please leave kudos or write a comment.

**Dear Doctor**

IMPERIAL NAVY AND ARMY HEADQUARTERS,

COURUSCANT

Yuna looked up at the large emblem and the hard, steal letters that towered over the building's main entrance. Everything about this place was large and its whole architecture obviously intended to scare or impress the casual visitor, rather than having a serious purpose.

The building was one of the most excessive places on Coruscant and every time she looked up, Yuna was struck by the sheer height and size of the building. It looked already huge from the outside, but once you were inside, you realized that it wasn't just these two main towers, no, there were countless of walkways that connected the towers to other incredibly high structures. All of them made out of glass and steel. The architecture was breath-taking and opulent and it harbored more offices and briefing rooms than she cared to count. It was located right inside the Federal District and one could see a good part of Coruscant from higher up, but the one thing you couldn't see from most of its offices was the ground... and maybe that was the whole point.

Yes, the building was impressive, but Yuna had been here too often to be awestruck. Granted, she hadn't been here nearly as often as in the Senate, but she knew her way around. And after sneaking out of the hospital, sneaking into INAAH couldn't be that much harder.

Or it could. She hadn't even made it through the bloody security check! Everything had started to peep and bleep and then two stormtroopers had literally dragged her into a tiny office. Which wasn't wider than the corridor outside. It was located under a staircase and filled to the brink with stacks of yellow datapads. Looking out of the window, Yuna could see the ground.

"Is this a joke?!" A middle-aged man, with piercing green eyes, in a typical olive-green military uniform hissed, while staring at the stormtroopers in disbelieve.

"Sir, regulation 12.2 states that every person trying to penetrate the..."

"I know the bloody regulation! But for heaven's sake, this is a child! She is probably terrified!"

Terrified? Yes, she could look terrified. She put her hands under her thighs, bit on her lower-lip and looked up at the officer with what her father often called "unfair human puppy-eyes".

"Tell me, does she look like a terrorist to you?" The man barked.

"Men like you are the reasons the army has such a bad reputation! This is Coruscant and the not the kind of backwater planet you two narrow-minded clowns obviously come from! The media will be all over the place if we aren't careful!" He shook his head angrily.

"Dismissed!" With that, the two white figures left the room.

Then he looked down at the small girl, sitting in front of his desk.

"Sorry about that. Sometimes security in this place overreacts. Especially now that the Rebellion grows bolder with each passing day." He sighed. "But you probably don't know a thing about that."

He sat down and then offered her a huge jar of sweets.

She chose a red cherry drop and smiled.

"Thanks."

"Now tell me. Why did you try to enter the building."

"I didn't know it's forbidden."

"It is not. This is a public building after all. Still, you need a special permission."

_How on earth could she explain this?_

"I wanted to see Grand Admiral Thrawn."

"May I ask why?"

"It's… for a school essay. Examples of successful integration in Human society."

The dark-haired man raised an eyebrow in surprise. Well, if that wasn't a new.

"Some of my ancestors are from Chiss space too and I thought it might help my social studies grade. Probably wasn't my best idea."

Lying was always best if there was a grain of truth involved...

"I have a daughter about your age." The officer said after a while and then smiled. "It's unbelievable what the teachers expect from you these days." He shook his head.

"The Grand Admiral is here, but I doubt he'll receive you. He has many important things to do, you know."

"Could you ask, please?"

The man took a deep sigh.

"I guess I could try, but don't get your hopes up high."

He took his com and went to the adjacent room.

"I'll be right back."

Yuna smiled and nodded. Right back? In his dreams! Getting dad on the phone, or just one of his aids, was a nightmare. Especially when he was on Coruscant.

But this also provided her with a good opportunity... She smiled, and as soon as the door closed, she hopped from her chair and ran out of the office, along the long hallway and into the next elevator.

She hit the number she associated with her father's office and found out that it wasn't where she remembered it to be. Either that, or he had worked in a broom cupboard before.

_Damn, where was he?! _She had to be quick or security would throw her out for good this time! She closed her eyes and looked for that familiar presence in the Force. Ah, there he was. Two stories below. But... his Force presents felt differently. _How odd..._

_So, back into the elevator, two floors down and then … straight on and right. The Force was better than any navigation system!_

_Dad! _She could see him. At the end of the corridor talking to two officers. Now she only had to…

"And who do we have here?"

A strong hand gripped her left arm. She looked up. A stormtrooper. Again. He held her by the arm, while another trooper simply watched her pitiful attempts to get loose.

"Sir, we found her." He said into his helmet's microphone. "Yes, Sir. We'll be there."

"Let me go!"

Yuna kicked him as hard as she could, but he didn't look too impressed. With one swift moment, he picked her up and carried her back towards the elevator.

_No, no, no, no, no!_

"No, let me down!" She looked at her father, who didn't seem to care at all!

_Damn, she had to get his attention somehow! _

Then she had an idea_._

"Mitth'raw'nuruodo! Ch'ah viz ch'at tisut ch'at vah! Hah ch'aah hsizo! Ttis'ah!" She yelled, while kicking the stormtrooper.

"Ttis'ah!" She added once more.

Her Cheunh wasn't great. She knew that and she could only hope that she hadn't said utter nonsense. She understood it just fine, but talking was…difficult. Her father had made a point talking to her in his mother-tongue, especially when she had been little, but he was almost never at home and no one else spoke it, so she hadn't put much effort into learning it. But apparently, it had been good enough for him to take notice of her.

Unceremoniously, the stormtrooper carried her over. She hung over his shoulder like a sack of dry goods, head down, backside up. With some effort, she pushed herself up and looked right into a pair of very familiar red-glowing eyes.

"Hi."

His office was large, well-appointed and totally lacking any trace of individuality. A guest sitting in this office, hoping to learn more about the owner, would be sorely disappointed. Modern paintings of muted-colors decorated the wall and the desk was neatly clean, a testimony of the limited amount of time he spent here and of the effectiveness of his work schedule. Yuna was not surprised at all. Her eyes focused on the crazy black and white and silver abstract painting over the sideboard.

_Ok, it was now or never._

"I'm your daughter."

Usually, his face never betrayed any emotion, but this time she saw open amusement in his eyes.

"The fact that you speak Cheunh, does not make you my daughter."

"I know. But I am."

"If you were my daughter, do you not think I would know?"

She knew this tone. He wasn't angry, but he also didn't believe a word of what she said. He was educating her. Trying to show her the flaws in her argumentation.

"Yes, you should. But in this case, there is no way you could... You see..."

_He would not believe her! He would not!_ _But there was no other way._

"...I'm from the future. I fell down a tunnel and woke up here. I can't really explain how or why it happened and I need your help."

Silence. For the longest time, there was just silence.

"I have to say this is more entertaining than a usual day at the office, but ..."

"Please don't go! I know... I KNOW this sounds crazy, but I can prove it! I am... Well, just ask me anything about you."

He shook this head, smiled faintly and then leaned back into his chair.

"There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamed of, or can be dreamed of, in any philosophy." A quote she remembered him saying once while talking about the Force. He always had had his problems with it, as it went against everything he knew and believed in.

"And now she is quoting Shakespeare."

"I just picked it up somewhere. Please."

"Alright. How old was I when I got promoted to Captain during my time at the Ascendancy."

Yuna gaped at him.

"I don't know THAT! What kind of question is that?! No, I mean I know things about your family, for example. Your brother, Thrass, and your mother, Atia, and I know you like to eat redfish, I know you always have these funny colorful post-its in your desk's drawer, I know you like to go to these terrible operas, I know you used to sleep with a blaster under your pillow before I was born and I well...who do you think taught me Cheneu? It's not like there are many people around here that know the language!"

"If had I taught you, your language skills would be better." He said dryly.

"No, they wouldn't because you are never here!" Yuna fumed.

"Ok, how about this - you could have my DNA tested. I can't fake that. Or I could do a lie detector test. Or both."

"How did my brother die?"

_Ah. She knew this one!_

"He navigated this massive Republican ship out of Chiss Space to prevent civil war! It crash-landed and he died. You blame yourself for his death. You miss him."

The Chiss remained silent for while, his face as unreadable as ever.

"Alright. Give me your arm.

The next twenty minutes felt like an eternity and when her father finally returned, she literally felt something was different. He was not happy. He just stood there and watched her closely, probably unsure of what to make of the results.

_So he finally believed her!_

Yuna wanted to run to him, wrap her arms around his waist, snuggle her head against his chest and feel that everything would be alright. However, looking at the stern man in front of her now, she knew that would be a very bad idea. This man, this younger version of her father, would not provide her with the comfort she sought. Biting on her lower lip, she slid back on forth on her chair and then looked down on her feet.

_This was not how it should be…_

The way he looked at her, she was almost sure he would send her back. And then… then she would end up in an orphanage. And never return back home.

_In the future, you will be so sorry about this! _

But being angry didn't help. Not at all, she felt small and afraid, like she hadn't felt in years. She just needed someone, something! Some familiarity, some comfort, something that did not make her feel like she was all alone in this world. She didn't even have Slyther. If he were here now, crawling on her lap, climbing up against her chest, things would be better. But he wasn't.

"You're questioning the results." Yuna had to pull herself together not to cry.

"Time travel has never been achieved. As far as I am concerned, it is nothing but fiction and folklore."

"But the DNA test proves that I'm your daughter! I know it does! I'm not lying!"

"At least that is what you think."

"What I think?" _Oh no, _no….

"Da…" She stopped herself there. She didn't know to address him and then just skipped it.

"I'm not a designer baby with memory implants!"

She stared into his eyes. Pleading.

"Please! I'm your daughter! Can't you see that?!"

Thrawn looked at her once more and her face literally burned itself into his mind. Yes, he could see it, and it made him uncomfortable. Her skin-color was obviously the most striking resemblance between them, though its blue color seemed lighter than his. Her thick hair, pulled back in a ponytail, was his too in texture as well as color. She was still young, but the cheekbones were his, her lips those of his mother, but the nose and the eyes were unfamiliar. He could see parts of him in her, yes, but they were obviously blended with someone else's. Even if she was a trick, she was still his daughter. The data didn't lie. But what could be the aim of creating this child? He could see the point of trying to clone him. But to create an 11 year old female? A hybrid with the Force know whom? He couldn't see it. Leaving him with very few alternatives….

"According to his data you are my child." He confessed and put the datapad back down. "I checked it twice." There was a sigh.

"Let us for a second pretend that you are who you claim to be. When were you born, Yuna?"

"15 ABY."

"That calendric system is unknown to me."

_Sith! Sure it was! She had to be more careful!_

"Naturally it would. Sorry, you still use Republic time. Well, I'm not good at this." She did the Math in her head.

"15 years from now. On the 3rd of January."

"That means this year something is going to happen that will change the way the galaxy measures time?"

"Yes. It was kind of a big deal."

She did not say more. Clever girl.

He turned to the large window, hands clasped tightly behind his back and looked down upon the other buildings. So, IF he were to believe her, 14 years from now, he would make a child. What an outlandish thought. Not even while living among his own people, such thoughts had been easy. But now? Marriage? Children? He shook his head.

"Maybe you are not only from a different time but also from a different dimension." He said dryly.

"What makes you say so?"

"I do not desire a family." He said flatly.

Yuna felt her mouth opening. How could he say that?

"I...I guess a lot can happen in 15 years."

"I do not think so."

It felt like a slap in the face. Not only did he not believe her, he did not WANT her.

How could this be? This was a possibility she had not considered. Her father LOVED her! She was so NOT going to cry.

Yuna hopped from the chair and went towards the door.

"Where do you think you are going?"

"I don't know. Anywhere but here. After all, you do not desire a family."

**TBC**

A/N: Hope you enjoyed it! If so, please leave Kudos or comment. :)

**Home**

"You are going nowhere." He slowly turned around and when Yuna tried to open the door, she found that she couldn't.

"Open the door or…"

"Or what? You have to learn to control your emotions. I have no intention to harm you, little one." He sighed and looked at her once more.

"Come with me." He said finally and then told a black protocol droid to cancel all his appointments for the rest of the day.

...

After that, the two of them walked across the long hallways to another office.

The name at the door read "Colonel Wullf Yularen, ISB".

How wonderful, her father was taking her to the Security Bureau!

Colonel Yularen was tall, but not as tall as her father, he too wore a white uniform, but he had white hair and a white mustache. Yuna wasn't sure how old he was, but from her perspective he was ancient. His eyes were interesting; they were blue, big and very dominating, the kind of eyes that didn't miss a thing. But they also spoke of kindness. The office was large and functional rather than welcoming, but that was not uncommon within the Empire, still, Yuna noticed a family holoframe on his desk. Maybe that was why her father had come here.

"Grand Admiral?" Yularen said, obviously surprised.

"Good morning, Colonel. I know that I do not have an appointment, but I would be grateful if you could spare some time. I need some information and…. advice."

The elderly man nodded.

"Of course." His eyes wondered to Yuna. "And who do we have here?"

"That, Colonel, is exactly what I wanted to talk to you about."

...

About an hour, several coffee mugs, files and data-crystals later, Yularen was at a loss.

"I have no explanation for this. But I will keep looking."

"So you are saying that she is telling the truth?"

"No, I am saying that I have no data to prove her wrong." The human explained.

"And what now?" The Chiss studied the bored girl on the couch. "As unwise and irrational as it may sound. I feel …. responsible for her."

Yularen smiled.

"To me, that does not sound irrational at all. Unwise, perhaps." He took another sip of coffee.

"If what she claims is true, she is a vulnerability. To you personally, as well as to the Empire. If knowledge of the future comes into the wrong hands, the Force alone knows what can happen." He looked at the girl. "Thousands of people could live, or die." He smiled. "You might not even be conceived."

Yuna crossed her arms over her stomach. "Thanks for adding a personal threat to the already heavy burden. I'm sure that will help to keep me quiet."

Yularen raised an eyebrow. "She has quite a temper for someone her age. I wonder who her mother is." His eyes twinkled mischievously, but Thrawn only snorted.

"If I were you, I would keep her close. Until we know more about her and why she is here."

Yuna didn't need to look over to her father to know how he would take this.

"That might be difficult. I am leaving Coruscant in two standard days. It is a joined mission with his Lordship. This could not have happened at a worse time. I cannot have a child."

It felt like a knife was jerked into her heart – again, but this time she tried to calm herself. _He is not the man you know. Yet. He has never seen you before..._

"Easy. Let me stay at home." Yuna said.

"You are eleven." Her father pointed out.

"Yes, but I'm USED to being alone. I was raised by droids and staff members." The girl snapped back.

"What about your mother?"

For a second she wasn't sure whether she should answer, but this information would hardly change the future.

"She works day in, day out. I only see her in the evenings and sometimes not even that. I can handle being alone and I won't set the house on fire. Promised."

"Maybe. But there is no house." The Chiss explained flatly.

Yuna looked up in surprise. "Ohh…I…I had not considered that possibility."

"Obviously."

Yularen looked at his chrono. He probably had another appointment.

"Well, I'm sure you two can figure something out, but there is the more immediate problem of her identity." The Colonel explained."She needs some sort of identification. Having her stay here as your daughter would raise more than one question and, after the latest attacks, it might also endanger her life. Never mind the personal implications."

The Chiss nodded. "I agree." There was a long pause.

"Perhaps we could make her my niece. I had a brother, Thrass, who passed away a couple of years ago. We were close, it would not be too far fetched to assume that he would have named me as his child's guardian if he had had one. There are almost no ties between the Ascendancy and the Empire. She would need a new ID and no one could prove me wrong. Though I doubt many would be foolish enough to try. Besides, Yuna and I would still be family. It might make things easier."

"Very good, Admiral." The Colonel got up. "There is little more we can do today." He went to his desk and handed Thrawn a datapad.

"If you fill this out by tonight, I'll have her papers ready first thing in the morning." He smiled at the girl. "And then, you'll be a proper citizen of the Empire again."

"I guess it has not been build." Yuna looked at the two large military warehouses that stood where her home should be. The large silver building, that resonated with contemporary architecture; that had a sleek façade, made of glass and metal, and that so wonderfully combined elegance and efficiency. The only building in the district that had a small garden at the back and a patio in front of the main entrance. Home.

"It has not even been cleared for building purposes yet, never mind the rest. Are you sure we are at the right place?" The Chiss asked.

"We are talking about my home! Naturally, I'm sure!"

Thrawn zoomed out of the speeder's navigational display and shook his head.

"What?" She asked.

"I doubt I will have a house here." Her father explained. "It is quite close to the Palace, as well as to the combined Army and Navy Headquarters."

"That's probably why you build it here!"

"That is why I will not be able to afford it." The Chiss replied and Yuna sighed. Longingly she looked out of the window. It should be here. Her home. The place in which she felt safe and not as an unwelcome "niece". But it wasn't.

Well, money wasn't an issue when she was born. If her parents wanted a house here, it would be built. But obviously, she couldn't say that.

"I will live here." She just said and then smiled at her father. "But not now.

Her father's flat was located in a beautiful building along one of the main routes that lead directly to the Central District of Coruscant. It was a three-room apartment with a bedroom, which looked like it had been recently renovated, a delightful living room with an open-plan kitchen in light colours, a large balcony, behind two large windows which allowed the room to be flooded with natural light, and an enormous study. The living space was characterized by a comfortable sofa-bed, a large cabinet with a HoloTV and a square dining table with chairs for up to six people. The capacious, modern, white kitchen was fully equipped with all necessary amenities. All in all, it was rather nice. Did mum know about this place? She had never talked about it. Did it still exist in her time? Yuna wondered while looking around. Probably.

"This is very nice. I never knew you had had a flat here."

"Probably because it was not of importance."

Her father pointed towards the sofa-bed.

"You can stay there."

He showed her how to pull out the bed and brought her a pillow and a duvet.

After a strangely awkward inquiry, he gave her a T-shirt too, which worked fine as a nightdress for the far smaller girl.

"Thank you." She said and then it did not take long until she fell into a deep sleep.

Thrawn looked at the sleeping form on his couch. It still felt like some strange, really wild dream. It was unbelievable how trusting this girl was. Unless, of course, she really believed that he was her father. And it was just as unbelievable that he had brought her home! There was a total stranger sleeping on his couch! She could be an assassin, a killer-droid, a crazy clone, a changeling, a spy or - his daughter from the future. The thought was still….hard to digest. But he couldn't shake off that feeling of responsibility, of familiarity and…belonging. Could it REALLY be? It was crazy, taking her home, making her his niece. But at the same time it felt right. He couldn't understand it himself. Anyway, now he had work to do and not for the first time he was glad that Chiss did not require as much sleep as Humans did.

Yuna shook away the cobwebs of sleep and sat up on the couch. Her stomach rumbled eagerly, but there was no food.

_Of course. Why should her father make breakfast for her?_

So she walked into the kitchen and set the table on her own. Apparently, kitchens hadn't changed much in the last decades. She put a bowl on the table, replicated four rolls and a boiled egg for each of them. Then she made coffee, orange juice and a glass of milk for herself. At last, she put some butter, jam and cheese on the table.

Now the tricky part. She quietly walked over to the study and slowly opened the door. Her father was reading and signing some documents.

"Armm… I've made breakfast."

...

She took a huge gulp from her glass of milk and already ate her third roll. Yuna knew she was more or less tossing out all of the manners her governess had tried to instill in her, but she was hungry. No, starving. She hadn't had time to eat since her fall and apparently, her recent trials had taken its toll on her too.

Luckily, her father did not comment on it, which was uncharacteristic, but he probably had a lot of things on his mind now. Not unlike herself. Yes, now, after a good night's sleep and a full stomach, she finally had some time to think. If she remembered history correctly, Palpatine and Vader were still alive and kicking at the moment. Soon the first Death Star would be blown up by the Rebels and a good many families would be destroyed. Her mother's included.

But now she had the power to change all of that. She could warn her mother, she could easily provide the Empire with enough information so there would be no need to destroy Alderaan. Or she could help the Rebels, go to Bail Organa and tell him how to destroy the Death Star before it reached Alderaan. It would be destroyed anyway. Or she could do nothing. The thought that she actually possessed the knowledge to prevent millions of beings from dying made her euphoric and depressed at the same time. _What should she do?_

"Dad…if I could save many people, should I do it?" She could see him wincing at the title.

_Blast it!_

"If time travel exists, interfering with the past would be a very dangerous thing to do. All the people whose lives you will save, will go on living, have jobs other people should have, marry people other people should marry, children will be born that should not exist and so on. Everything would change. And whether those changes would be beneficial or not, cannot be said. So the answer would have to be no."

Well, she had suspected that. Kind of. Still…

"What if I cannot go back? Then I will change the past anyway. And I already did. I mean, I should not be here. Maybe my future already doesn't exist anymore. Or I WAS here – but you would have told me that, wouldn't you?"

"Thoughts about time travel give headaches to people far older than you." He smiled. "Now go and take a shower. I will clean up."

And there, for a second, he was normal again. Yuna smiled. Maybe not all was lost.

She had always enjoyed water showers. Especially, when they were so hot that the bathroom was a sauna afterwards. For her it had never been about getting clean, but about enjoying the feeling of water on her skin. The shampoo definitely smelled "male", but she couldn't care less. She had used her father's stuff before when mum had run out. She sighed blissfully while massaging the shampoo into her long hair. A shower was always perfect. You felt clean and new and ready to face the world afterwards – that was if you didn't have to wear the same clothes for three days in a row….

**TBC**

**Shopping**

A/N: Just a short update

The Coruscant shopping mall was considerably different from her time. The shops were smaller and gold seemed to be THE colour. It looked terrible, but the people seemed to like it. There was a fountain underneath one of the larger escalators and there was definitely more military around. There were stormtroopers with long rifles, patrolling the hallways and guarding all of the main entrances. Everywhere were large Holo-screens encouraging people to report conspicuous, rebel-friendly behaviour to the local authorities. Children were almost always accompanied by their parents and there were considerably fewer beggars and non-humans around. In a way, it felt like a totally different mall altogether. But then again, they were at the edge of a civil war.

While passing another store, Yuna felt once more that her father was not entirely pleased with her being here. Maybe it was the shopping. Her father disliked shopping and only ever did it once a year, before Christmas and only to please her mother. Apparently, this attitude was also true for his younger self. He did not understand the concept of browsing or the wish to compare goods. He just brought what he needed and everything else was a waste of time.

She had always been daddy's little girl. She knew that. But now, slowly but steadily, she couldn't help but wonder why her mother had fallen in love with him. He never smiled or said more words than necessary. And when he spoke it sounded like a lecture or an article right out of the Galactic Encyclopaedia. He wasn't amiable at all and now, after two hours of shopping, Yuna couldn't shake off the feeling that her beloved parent hated children. Or maybe just her.

Yuna looked at her father. He wasn't all bad though. He had paid for all her stuff, after all. She looked down at the shopping bags. Clothes mostly, some shoes, shampoo, a toothbrush, crème and two books. The clothes were different in her time too. Truth to be told, she had had a hard time choosing some outfits that were halfway to her liking. And the books, well she didn't really need them, but he had bought them without hesitation. Probably because he approved of them. Actually, he had never complained about buying all those books that made up the better part of the longest wall in her bedroom. Still, today it felt like a far too kind gesture for the frustrated man next to her.

"Are you done?"

Yuna looked down at the bags.

"Yes, I think so."

"Good. Then we can go and buy your school equipment."

"My WHAT?"

She had travelled through time and he had enrolled her in a school?! That was….. so typical!

"But D…I have more important things to worry about than going to school! Things like how to get back home!" She hissed and hoped not to draw too much attention.

"Yes, but while attempting to do so, I do not want you to neglect your education."

He put out a datapad and showed her a long list of things they had to get.

"And when did you plan to tell me this?"

"You know now." He gave her a rare smile. "Did you really think you would not have to go to school, young lady?"

Actually, she hadn't thought about that yet. No, not going to school was not an option as far as both of her parents were concerned, but ….all of this was so big, so life-changing…how could he have found the time to enrol her in a school? How could he even have thought about it? Not even she herself had thought about it!

"What school is it?"

"One I saw fit." He looked down on her. "What difference does it make? You will know no one there."

"Yes, but I want to know!" Yuna almost yelled. A school wasn't just a school. It was where you spend the better part of your days…and she just hoped it wouldn't be some kind of military school. And in the state her father was in at the moment, that was a real possibility! Especially, as some of them were boarding schools. Wouldn't that be convenient?! She already saw herself being shipped off to `The Coruscant Junior Military Academy´.

"It is a private school with good credentials. The Royal Tober. It has a fair curriculum and you do not have to stay overnight."

Now THAT was surprising.

"I know the school. It's supposed to be good, even in my time." Yuna said slowly. "Why did you not choose a boarding school? I'm not complaining! Really, I hate boarding schools. But wouldn't that have been easier for you?"

"Having attended boarding school myself and after some first-hand encounters of Xenophobia during my Academy days here on Coruscant, I thought it best not to bestow that upon you."

"Thanks."

He didn't answer.

"Am I correct in the assumption that `The Royal Tober´ is not your school in the future?"

"No." She shook her head. "I do homeschooling." She would have loved to go to a real school, but her parents had thought it would be too dangerous. Therefore, a part of her actually looked forward to school now. She had often wondered how that would be – having classes with other students, making friends.

He looked down on her. She was totally different from any Chiss child, he had ever known. All in all, she behaved very….Human. Still, it was hard not to feel some sort of attachment to her. His daughter from the future? Blood of his blood? But also very different. Not for the first time he wondered who her mother might be. Yuna hat made it sound like he was married and her mother worked on Coruscant. Yes, he was curious… But knowing too much about the future also meant endangering the future. IF time travel existed.

Yuna suddenly stopped.

"Can I have an ice cream?" She pointed at the store. It was not a real question. Everything about her told him that her question was mere curtsy and that she expected him to say `yes.´ The more time he spent with her, the more obvious it became that he would become the kind of father that gave into his child's every whim. Sith…. He really should stop this now. Once and for all. Say `no´ and be done with it. And it was not healthy anyway. On the other hand, she was just a child and her current situation was less than favourable…

"If …that would please you."

...

The rest of the shopping trip was rather uneventful and all her school materials would be delivered to the flat tomorrow morning. They had dinner at "The Pinnacle" and when they returned "home", Yuna almost tripped over a large box.

...

"What's going on here?" She asked and looked at two droids emptying her father's study.

"We need a second bedroom for your governess."

"My WHAT?!"

**TBC**

**School**

**A/N:** Many new characters in this one - not sure if that was a smart idea.

Lieutenant Katyana Weiss was a 28-year-old human female with honey-blond hair and green eyes. Everything about her screamed "military" and not "governess" and Yuna wasn't at all sure what to expect of her. She showed up the next day at 14:00 hours and by that time her father's study had already been converted to a second bedroom, while Yuna was told to take her, admittedly few, things to her father's bedroom.

Over breakfast, and while another pair of droids had brought the Grand Admiral's belongings to a military storage facility, he had casually informed Yuna about their next steps. He would be gone for about a week, to go on a special mission with Lord Vader. Actually, she knew a little bit about this trip. She had asked her father once if he had ever met her grandfather and he had told her about the few occasions their passes had crossed. Yuna grinned, the idea that Vader was his future father-in-law would probably freak him out. As far as she knew Lord Vader hadn't been on anyone's favourite list. But she knew, that deep down, he couldn't be that bad. Uncle Luke had saved him from the Dark Side, after all, and he was her grandfather. But her father wouldn't find much joy in the upcoming trip. He had said it had been a real nightmare if she remembered correctly. Lord Vader being all bossy and threatening to force choke him at more than one occasion. She did not envy him.

And then there had been the matter of Katyana. Apparently, she had become ill and now could no longer serve on the Chimera. Her family was from Coruscant, she had three younger brothers and good grades and was trained in several martial arts, which, apparently, qualified her as a governess. At least from her father's point of view. Little did he know... She had had a governess before and that governess had looked after her clothes, her hair, the way she talked and walked; she had taught her court protocol, how to shake hands, how to bow your head and how to use the right cutlery and how to not put your elbows on the table, even if you were extremely bored and tired. Yes, her governess had helped her with her homework too, but martial arts had not been on the curriculum. This woman could hardly be described as a governess, a thing the former, correction - current, Princess of Alderaan would know, but her father did not. And she would not complain. Her governess had been a real nuisance. She had had a governess, a private teacher, changing security guards and droids, of course. Compared to all that, Katyana was a real improvement. And she was a lot younger than her future governess too!

"...the flat is small, but all of this was rather unexpected." The Chiss turned around and looked at her. "And this is Yuna, my niece."

He pushed her forward and she held out her hand.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Weiss."

"The pleasure is all mine, Miss Nuruodo." Yes, Yuna Nuruodo. Really, couldn't he have been a little more creative?

They sat down in the living room and her father handed Miss Weiss a datapad.

"The list is long, but I am confident you will manage. Yuna's safety is the main objective. Everything here is new to her and she has no acquaintance as of yet. You will drive her to school, talk on my behalf with the headmaster and her class-teacher and make sure she has everything she needs and does not neglect her education." He handed her a second datapad.

"And we need more space. I already contacted at real estate agency and informed them about my decision to buy a house. One of their employees will call you tonight. I am hard to please when it comes to accommodation, but as a general rule it should be both functional and artistically pleasing."

Well, if that wasn't the understatement of the century! Finding something, that would please her father and was available would be hard, if not impossible. Here, on Coruscant, such things needed time, careful planning and a lot of money flowing into the "right" hands. Property was dirty business on Coruscant.

Katyana straightened her black and white jumpsuit.

"I have not much experience with real estate, Sir. But I will do my best. And thank you once more for this opportunity."

He nodded. "Perhaps this illness was a blessing in disguise for both of us."

Yuna looked at the woman. She did not look ill at all. She looked healthy with rosy cheeks and a trained figure. She wondered what kind of illness she could have, but knew better than to ask right away.

They talked some more about things to do, school and the speeders, so that Yuna decided to go into "her" room and read one of the books her father had brought her, but somehow she couldn't concentrate. So much had happened so fast and she was starting to worry. Had she done the right thing by contacting her father?

Time flew by and before she knew it, Yuna had to say goodbye - again. She had done this a thousand times, but this time was different. He was the only one who knew who she really was...and she knew how to say goodbye to Dad, but not how to say goodbye to her "uncle".

"I will be back next week. Do what Lieutenant Weiss tells you, behave and try to stay out of trouble." So far the differences to a normal goodbye were neglectable.

"Ok." Yuna said uncomfortably while shifting from one foot to another. "And you, well, try not to anger his Lordship too much. He doesn't trust you."

The Chiss raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?"

"Yes." Yuna found the courage to look up at him. "I could tell you now that everything will be fine and that there is no reason for concern, but that would be a lie. This mission is... special. There'll be plenty of occasions when everything is not fine and when you won't know whether you made the right choices. Lord Vader will be angry, but you'll be alright. And in the long run, everything will be alright and afterwards...well..."

The Chiss was silent for a while.

"I am unsure how to feel about your future predictions. However, I would discourage you from voicing them in the presence of strangers. Especially at school." He said finally.

"I'm not stupid!" She suppressed the urge to roll her eyes.

"I never said that. Take care."

Yuna couldn't muster the courage to hug him, even though she longed for it.

"You too. And may the Force be with you."

After signing some documents in the headmistress' office, Yuna was greeted by her class-teacher, Mrs. Matthias.

"Hello, Yuna. I'm Mrs. Matthias. I hope you have everything?" Yuna nodded and looked down at her heavy schoolbag. It was unbelievable how many things regular students had to carry along! She would need one of the lockers she had seen in the entrance hall.

"Good." She smiled "Are you excited?" The young, dark-haired woman asked.

"A little," Yuna said, but in reality, she was VERY excited, if not... afraid. People had looked at her, even while walking down the hallway to the headmistresses' office.

"That's normal on the first day. Don't worry."

Katyana looked down at her.

"Alright. I'll pick you up at 13.00 hours then." With that, she left.

The school was small and private. Just 500 students and about 40 teachers. It was well-equipped for its time, clean and heavily armoured. At least outside - with guards at all doors, but inside arms were not allowed and not even personal bodyguards were allowed to enter the building.

There was a staff landing with the secretaries' office, the headmistress' office and the staff room, two science landings, two arts landings, two whole floors with classrooms two indoor recreation halls. Connected to the main building were a large sports hall and a cantina, and outside they had two playgrounds. Due to the school uniforms, all the children looked pretty much the same. Another thing she would have to get used to. For boys, the uniform consisted of a navy blue blazer with the school crest, a white dress shirt, the school tie and light brown trousers. The girls looked similar, they had to wear the same lazy blue school blazer, a white, plain blouse and the school tie, but they had to wear a grey dress skirt with knee-high socks and polished black leather shoes. And almost all of the pupils were human. Apparently, school uniforms were used to even out the social differences, but in her opinion that was rubbish. Everyone knew this school was posh and if anything the school uniform showed that your parents had the money to let you come here. Social differences would always be apparent, no matter what.

They entered the classroom and the children stood up, as soon as they saw the teacher.

"Good morning everyone."

"Good morning, Mrs. Matthias." They said all together and then sat down.

Yuna looked at the pupils, who in turn looked at her and it made her feel strangely uncomfortable. They were studying her, the new kid, like she was an animal in a zoo. There was mild interest, but there was also surprise, dissociation and... indignation. Yuna could hear her heart beating loudly. Was this normal?

"As you can see we have a new student. Yuna Nuruodo. She recently moved to Coruscant, please make her welcome and help her to settle in."

She looked at Yuna.

"Would you like to say anything?"

She shook her head. Not in a million years!

"Then you can sit down." She pointed at an empty chair in the second row and Yuna was more than thankful to finally sit down.

So far, classes hadn't been too bad and the teachers were nice, but when the lunch bell sounded, Yuna was surprised at how nervous she was. Somehow she knew that the schoolyard would be a totally different world altogether. She had no idea how to interact with other children and didn't know what to expect, especially from her classmates. Well, only one way to find out. She took a deep breath, took her lunchbox and then walked over to some of the children she knew were in her class.

"Well, well, if that isn't the Pandoran who was brought in by her Nanny today." A blond boy said while looking in her direction and grinned.

"Were you too scared to come in alone? But I have heard your kind isn't the bravest."

What was happening? Why did he say that?

"I was brought in because it was my first day. I did not know that is forbidden."

"It's not forbidden, Blue. It's just cowardly. How old are you? Five?"

Why was he so rude to her? She had done nothing to deserve this! She looked at the other kids, but they were just standing there, no one intervened.

"My name is not Blue!" Yuna hissed.

"For me, it is because I don't give a damn about you or your name. I won't be needing it, you know."

"But you are in my class."

"You are not the smartest, are you?" He pointed towards three kids on the other side of the schoolyard. "The freaks are over there."

With "freaks" he obviously meant the non-humans. The other kids laughed.

"Bye-bye, Blue." The blonde boy waved and then he and his gang turned around and left her alone.

What on Earth had that been?! NEVER, EVER in her whole life had ANYONE been so rude to her! Usually, Yuna had a sharp tongue, but this time she had been too shocked to react. And now it was too late! She felt like a total fool.

And they disliked her because of her skin-colour?! Because they thought she was Pandoran?! Yes, she had heard of Xenonphelia, but she had never been subjected to it before. She had heard it had been worse before the war against the Grysk, before the Great Union, but this...it was terrible. And who did they think they were? Yuna glared at the blonde boy on the opposite side of the schoolyard. It would be so easy...to use the Force and make him fall head-over right into the trash can where he belonged. Her Force Powers were minimal but for that, they would suffice. Yuna swallowed. No. He had just been an ass and she had been unprepared. Next time, however...

"Don't listen to a word he says. Jason is just too full of himself."

Yuan turned around and looked at a dark-skinned human girl with a giggly voice, large brown eyes and a long, black ponytail. She was in her class too and sat in the last row if she remembered correctly.

"Jason is the son of Grand Moff Tolruck and thinks that makes him special, but it does not. It just shows that he has nothing to show for himself and therefore uses his father's name to show off. Pretty pathetic, really."

She held out her hand.

"I'm Tilly Kennedy. Class outcast."

Yuna shook her hand.

"Yuna." She hesitated.

"I know. Come on, I'll show you the cantina."

The school cantina had two rooms, one to order your stuff and in the other, you could sit down and eat and look out of the many, large windows. Strange, from here, Yuna could even see the Senat. Her mother was probably right over there and had no idea.

"Here," Tilly said and handed her a cup of hot chocolate.

"Thanks."

"Tilly...what did you mean when you said you were the class outcast?"

The girl sighed and fell back into the chair opposite Yuna and took a large gulp from her mug.

"Since you'll hear this story anyway, I guess it's best you'll hear it from me. I'm the Nanny's baby."

"Huh?"

"My Dad is Admiral Kennedy and my mum was Rupert's nanny. He is on this school too, graduating year though. When I came to school, he gave me hell and next year Angelika, his little sister, will come to school...at least she is younger than me."

"So you're the child of an affair?"

"I wouldn't call it an "affair". I was...an "accident" and caused a minor scandal. Rupert's mum LOATHES me. It's not like it was my fault."

"So he stayed with her?"

"Sure. Francheska is really rich and I think the thing with my mum was ... never that serious. But I'm the living proof of her husband's infidelity - with the Nanny." She laughed. "And the fact that my grades are better than Rupert's doesn't help. My dad's not bad though. He pays for my mum and me and for school and stuff. But we are not close."

"I see." Yuna took a sip from the steaming mug. Coruscant gossip could kill you. But living with all that bullying day in and day out?

"Why don't you change school?" She asked after a while.

"I am who I am. People will always talk about me and this school is really good. Once I graduate, the whole galaxy will be at my fingertips. It's a price worth paying."

Yuna wasn't sure. She looked through the window down at Jason. Seven years was a long time...

TBC

**Internship**

**Five days later**

Brilliant houses. All of them. Modern, stylish, but by no means special. Yuna knew her dad. He searched for the one in a million and none of them would do. He needed a house with a certain story. A house that was more than a place to spend time in. More than a place brought out of necessity. There was this one object though... far away and a real ruin. But worth saving. And that was really what it would be - a mission to save this building from forgetting and decay. The entrance hall alone was magical. Black and white tiles, a large old, wooden staircase that went up in a spiral pattern, a huge, but cracked, mirror and a spectacular marble balcony. Like from another time. A better time... He would like it. But it was in terrible condition. You couldn't even go upstairs. And it would need a lot of time, money and love to restore it to its former beauty and its position was less than optimal, as was the neighbourhood. And who knew how long she would stay?

Yuna sighed and put the file back on the sitting room table. "I think he would like this one."

"That is a ruin. And it is not in the right district." Katyana, who sat in one of the armchairs, answered and sipped on her hot chocolate. She was really nice but her military background often made her less-flexible. And her civilian clothes also couldn't cover up the fact that she was too direct and moved to swiftly for court.

"I know….I guess the white one is nice too. But adding this one wouldn't hurt, right?"

A worried shadow flickered over her beautiful face, but then she finally gave in. "I guess so."

With that, she added the data and then send it off. So much for the housing. They had spent the better part of the last four afternoons with house-touring, but the market was as empty as Yuna had feared and their real estate agent had been a living stereotype. A dynamic, vivacious man in his early fifties. He had driven a red Daystar speeder, had worn large sunglasses and had told them non-stop why this or that object was the best on the market. At times it had been painful to watch him advertising his company and his less than successful flirting attempts on Katyana.

"There's another thing I wanted to talk to you about…. It's this school project called `Future Day´. If we find a place for an internship we can accompany someone at work for a week and don't have to go to school. Afterwards, we have to write a report about it and whether or not we could imagine doing that job in the future…" Yuna hesitated. "…Would it be ok for me to do that?"

Katyana put her mug down; her back stiffened a little.

"Yuna…we have so many things to do with the upcoming move and there is the question of security. I would rather see you going to school."

"Please!" Yuna jumped up from the sofa. "I really want to do this and I already have an idea where. There, security shouldn't be a problem at all."

"And where exactly do you plan on going?"

"Yuna!" Leia said surprised when she saw the little girl walking into her office hours.

"Hello, Senator Oragna." The girl said and then sat down in front of the glass desk.

"Where have you been? What happened? You were suddenly gone and no one at the hospital could tell me what had happened."

The young girl looked down at her feet. Contemplating her next move. "Yeah. Sorry about that. I should have contacted you, but things were a little crazy."

"Are you alright now?" Yuna looked at her mother. Did she really care or was it just curtsy? She didn't know.

"Yes, I'm with my uncle now."

"But … what happened?"

"It's all very complicated, but to make a long story short, I hit my head pretty hard - as you already know - and life has been difficult recently. My dad died and I had to move to Coruscant. My uncle was neither prepared nor too happy about me showing up. And when I fell, I guess I just wanted to forget all of it."

"I'm sorry, Yuna. What about your mother?" Leia asked. This time her curiosity was real, Yuna was sure about it.

"She died when I was little." What a terrible thing to say when your real mother sat right in front of you. But her father had said that this was the safest lie. Otherwise, she would sooner or later slip.

"It's ok. Really." She smiled. "Well. I came to thank you for helping me back then and bringing me to the hospital. And … I really like you and there is this school thing. It's called `Future Day´ and I thought that, maybe, I could spend a week here. As your intern."

Yuna showed the Princess her datapad. "The work of a senator sounds fascinating. I would love to learn."

That was not really true. She already knew quite a lot about her mother's work and she wasn't too interested in it. At times, it was downright boring. But she was lonely and her mom would be in trouble soon. Maybe she could help.

Leia smiled. Having an intern was nothing new for her. She couldn't remember how many her father had had over the years, but Yuna was actually the first to ask her.

She glanced over the application form. The "Royal Tober". Well, if that didn't sound posh… Her eyes glanced over it and then got stuck on a name.

"Your official guardian is Grand Admiral Thrawn?"

"Yes. He's my uncle."

Heaven help. Now that she had said it, Leia could actually see a certain resemblance. Thrawn's niece. The doctor had been right, she wasn't Pantoran, but what was she? She couldn't remember Thrawn's species. Strange though that the child had brown eyes. Maybe only the males had red eyes? Or the famous Grand Admiral had a serious eye condition? She smiled.

"Does your uncle know you want to do an internship with me?"

"No. He's gone. He's somewhere at the edge of Wild Space with Lord Vader."

Leia tapped her perfectly manicured fingernails on top of her clear glass desk a few times. Finally, she sighed and got to her feet, and started to walk over to her window, before looking down on the street, thinking. Thrawn on a joint mission with Palpatine's lapdog? Interesting. Having his niece here might have some advantages. Thrawn was a mystery. The only non-human among the Grand Admirals - and very reserved. No interviews, almost no public appearances, no scandals. The Alliance knew almost nothing about him. Except that he was really dangerous. He defied the odds. She had never met him…

Leia eyed Yuna. Thrawn could make good use of this too. What were the chances that he was behind this? Looking at Yuna, Leia was almost inclined to say zero. It was hard to believe that this sweet girl was the niece of the Emperor's famous henchman.

"Your uncle might not like the idea. Alderaan and the Empire do not get along very well at the moment. There are other, more suitable senators to do an internship with. For example…"

Yuna raised her hand, trying to interrupt her. "But I want to do it with you! And Katyana, my governess, said I can! I can prove it! She waits outside." Yuna pointed towards the door.

Leia smiled. A Grand Admiral's niece, but also just a little girl. She dropped back into her black leather chair.

"If your governess says you can come, it would be my honour to have you as an intern, Yuna Nuruodo."

The Princess singed the datapad.

"See you next week then."

**TBC**

**Difficult marriage / Fatherly advice**

**NOW**

"Grand Admiral Thrawn, your Highness." A heavy, dark voice announced the visitor.

The Empress' eyes flew over her advisers, who sat around her.

"Let him in."

The elderly man hit the floor with a long, ceremonial bar and then the two royal guards simultaneously opened the large, double-winged door.

Thrawn appeared alone, in his usual, white uniform.

"Any news about my daughter, Admiral?"

"Our daughter is nowhere to be found, my Empress... May I have a word in private?"

There was a long, heavy silence filling the room. Private? Under no other circumstance would she have allowed such insolence, but her heart longed for her child.

"Leave us."

The dark figures rose and the heavy door closed audibly.

"You too," Leia said to her personal guard and then they were alone. For the first time in what felt like an eternity.

"Where is my child?"

He eyed her dark, velvet dress that clung tightly to her pale skin. Her eyes as deep and dark as ever.

"Nice dress."

"Where is my child?!" Leia repeated, this time clearly angry.

"You know where she is." The Chiss said calmly. "This search is superfluous."

"And if I turn the whole galaxy upside down, I won't rest until I have my child back in my arms!"

"Maybe you should have taken her in your arms more often when you had the chance to do it."

She rose her hand, but he caught it before it crashed against his face.

"How dare you!"

"No. How dare you?! She is my child too." Leia's eyes burned into his. Yes, Yuna was his and she could feel his pain. They were joined in pain. How fitting.

"So you are saying that it was really her? All those years ago?" Leia shook her head.

"Yes."

"Sith! I thought I was losing my mind! You could have said something! You could have stopped this if you knew this was going to happen!" The Chiss had almost forgotten that she had a heart, but now he could see it in her eyes; hear it in her voice. Now she was just a human mother looking for her child.

"I would not have known how. And this is what has to happen. It has happened before."

"This is crazy!" She felt tears coming to her eyes and turned around. No one should see her like this.

"Yuna was suddenly gone remember?" She put her arms around herself like she was freezing. "What if she is never coming back?" _This was insane!_

"I cannot sense her in the Force. It feels like she is gone. Dead." Leia put her left hand against the viewport to steady herself. "It feels like a part of me has been ripped out of my soul."

He hadn't touched her in years. They lived under the same roof, but their bedrooms were separated by a long hallway. Empress Leia Amidala Vader had become the strong ruler the galaxy needed. It had been a long, hard road for both of them and now there was little left of the young senator he had met years ago or the young Rebel Princess he had married to unite the Galaxy against the invasion of the Grysks.

He reached for her waist and to his surprise, she did not object.

"Our marriage was hard at the best of times," Leia said quietly. "But Yuna… I remember when you told me that we should have a child to secure this bound, to show the galaxy that this was real…" Leia closed her eyes and shook her head. "At first I thought you were crazy, but you were right. Yuna is the only thing that is real. The only thing I know we did right. She is the glue that holds us in place. The reason we fight and suffer." She turned around and touched his chest.

"She adores you… you know?"

And here she was, the great Sith Empress of the Galactic Empire, crying. He pulled her into a silent embrace.

"I love her so much. And I know you love her too." She cried into his shoulder and closed her eyes, inhaling his scent. Yes, they were merged. Merged in pain and merged in love for their child. Only he could understand how she felt right now.

"I'm afraid." She confessed quietly before her uncompromising and tempting lips found his.

"Help me feel something else."

**THEN**

Grand Admiral Thrawn was known as a balanced person, but she knew him. She knew how to interpret the subtle changes in his face. The way he held himself, the way his facial muscles tightened when things did not go as planned and she knew, without a doubt, that at this moment her father was as angry as she had ever seen him. He stood inside her bedroom door, with a datapad in his hand.

"I got a letter from your school."

Yuna sat on her bed and pretended to read a history book, while she hid her swollen, purple hand behind her back.

"Look at me when I talk to you, young lady."

She did look up but still didn't say a word. Then her father closed the door behind him, pulled over the desk chair and positioned himself right in front of her.

The Chiss then turned the datapad around, so that she could read the bold subject line, stating: `Information about inappropriate behaviour against a classmate.´

"Explain." Was all he said, but the girl only looked at her fingernails and remained silent.

"Yuna, there are many things I have to worry about and the first thing I read when I come home is that you physically attacked a fellow student."

She chewed on her lower lip.

"Why?"

"Because he is an idiot."

"That is hardly a reason."

"He called me a name."

"What did he say?"

Yuna looked at her father, measuring his ability to catch a lie and then decided against it.

"He called me a freak, an alien. He said I should go back to where I came from. That nobody in school wanted me."

"And then you broke his nose?"

"Yes." She pulled her hand up and her father slowly shook his head.

"That was not very smart."

"I guess not. But satisfying." She smiled. "You should have seen his face."

He took her hand, turned it around and studied it for a second.

"You should have put some bacta on that. Can you move it?"

She moved her fingers, grimaced, due to the pain, but nodded. "Yes."

"Yuna. You cannot hurt people just because they call you names. Objectively speaking, you ARE an alien to them. Just as they are to you. Or at least partially, as you are obviously a hybrid, but they have no way of knowing that. Humans are afraid of everything that is different or unknown. That is how they are. They have developed from a pretty aggressive past, which taught them to divide everything in "us" and "them". And your behaviour is only feeding into that fear."

"I am not letting them insult me!"

"I am not saying you should. I am only saying that is this not the right way to handle this situation. Come with me."

They went into the bathroom and her father put some bacta on her hand before enveloping it in a bandage.

"There is necessary pain and unnecessary pain. This here was totally unnecessary." He said while closing the bandage with a plaster.

"This boy whose nose you broke, I want you to apologize to him."

"Apologize? But… he was the one who started it! I won't apologize! I'm not sorry. I only wish I could have hit him harder!"

"He provoked you, and you reacted accordingly. The only problem with this is that you can only win if you do not play by their rules." He put a strain of hair behind her ear.

"You are half human, you are angry, short tempered and lack subtlety. You have to work on that." He was silent for a while.

"Seeking revenge is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die. It will harm you more than it will harm them…. The only thing you have accomplished by hitting that boy is that the teachers think you are violent, the other students are strengthen in their believe that non-humans, and you in particular, are dangerous, you hurt your hand and your pride and I am not happy about the situation either."

"I broke his nose."

"It will heal, your reputation will not. Nobody will ever forget this incident."

"I will not apologize!"

"You should… but an apology is worth very little if it is been extracted, rather than given."

"Apologizing to him would be like admitting that what I did was wrong!"

"He called you an alien and you broke is nose, Yuna. Making a fool out of yourself along the way."

"But what he did was wrong too! He…"

"That is not what this is about. This here is about admitting that YOU made an error. Correcting an error is sometimes hard, as it shows that we are, in fact, not infallible, but it is necessary. Not correcting them, simply because you are too proud, or make other people responsible, will prevent you from growing and learning from them."

"Have you ever made an error?"

"Of course. Nobody goes through life without them, but it's up to us how we handle them."

Yuna sighed and held up her hands in a surrendering gesture.

"OK. I'll apologize. There, I've said it. Are you happy now?"

"Yes and so should you."

He guided her back to her room.

"Now there is one more thing. Miss Weiss informed me that you want to do an internship with Senator Organa."

Yuna nodded.

"I guess there is no way you could have known that, but the Organas are openly disagreeing with the Emperor and are suspected of supporting the Rebellion with information as well as money, equipment and personal."

Yuna looked blankly at her father.

"The Rebels say that they fight for a better galaxy, but first of all they are terrorists, Yuna. They want to overthrow the government with violence and civil war."

"Does that mean I cannot do it?"

"To suspect someone is not the same as knowing. And I am not against the idea of you doing an internship in the Senate. It is a good opportunity and you can learn a lot. However, I want you to promise me that you will be careful with the Organas. Never tell them what I have just told you."

Yuna shook her head.

"No, of course not! I promise!"

"And do not tell them anything they do not need to know. For example, do not tell them anything about me, neither personal or professional."

"Ok."

"And do not tell them anything personal about you either. You do not know these people, Yuna. They may appear nice, but they can also use your time with them to gather data, which later on they might use against you. Be polite and learn, but keep conversations brief and try not to make friends with them."

**TBC**

**A secret revealed**

**NOW**

"Come here, Slyther. You have to eat." The yellow Ysalamiri had gone into a hunger-strike since Yuna's disappearance and looked unhappy at through the bars of his cage.

"Yes, I miss her too." Leia said when she closed the cage again.

Slowly, she stood up and looked around. The house was so silent, so empty without Yuna and her room was far too clean. All the books and toys stood perfectly straight in the shelves and there was no dust to be seen.

Leia picked up a furry Bantha from the bed and slowly sat down. Yuna had had this cuddly toy since she had been a baby. Luke had given it to her. Leia sighed. How she wished the room to be untidy again…

Yuna had been gone for almost two weeks now and she was starting to lose her mind. Leia lay down on her daughter's bed and stared at the ceiling.

She still couldn't believe what had happened today… She really must be going insane. Thrawn was an outstanding wartime commander and a good father, but there was no love between them. They lived like strangers who shared a hotel. They were nice and polite towards each other and every now and then they shared breakfast or dinner, but, all in all, those occasions were few and far between. Still, they had had a certain … understanding… one her brother had difficulties to apprehend, but she had only ever loved one man – Han Solo. The memories still made her smile. The cocky, arrogant smuggler and their escape from the Empire, the asteroid field, nights in the Falcon in the far too small cabin. She had been so young and so in love. He had been her first sacrifice for the greater good of the Galaxy. The first of many.

Therefore, today's encounter still stunned her to the core. It had been so unexpected, so uncalled for…. Yet she had climaxed hard on that table. Probably because for the first time she had felt something. She had felt his pain, his longing through the Force, feelings she could rely to.

_Sith!_

Leia pressed the cuddly toy to her chest.

The door opened and a pair of two bright, red eyes rested on her figure.

"Spending time in her room and staring at the ceiling will not bring her back."

"Why are you here then?" Leia shot back.

"To look after the Yasalamiri. Yuna would be sad if anything happened to him."

"Yuna would be sad…" Leia parroted and shook her head. "It was always about what SHE wanted. You spoiled her… Also with this stupid reptile. It disables my connection to the Force and now we have to clean its cage."

"I see you already fed him."

Leia remained silent. Of course she had.

Audibly, she released the air she hadn't realized she had been holding, then she sat up on the bed and straightened her dress.

"Yuna… how long was she with you?"

He sat down in the white armchair next to the bookshelf and activated a metal reading lamp.

"Almost a year."

"A year?!" Leia shook her head. "I don't think I'm ready to accept that right now."

There was a brief pause.

"And how did she come back?"

"Yuna vanished as suddenly as she had shown up. But… I do have a suspicion."

He pulled out a fairy-tale book. Cinderella.

"She loved that when she was little and now she hides it in the last corner."

"She grows up… Thrawn… would you…tell me about the time you spend with her?"

He put the book into its shelf again, leaned back in the chair, folded his hands across his lap and looked at her.

"Incredible how much effort it took you to ask such a simple question. What are you afraid of?"

"I'm not afraid! I am just not used to ask for anything."

"Indeed. You should try more often."

Leia was close to losing her temper. _Why couldn't he just answer her question? Why did he have to analyse everything?_ She should just leave. Stories about the past would not bring her back. She should do something – anything.

"I will tell you." He said all of a sudden. Probably sensing her running out of patience.

"What do you want to know?"

"I don't know… Everything!"

"How very specific." He said dryly.

_Nothing. Nothing was ever easy with him!_

"I don't know! For example, did she tell you that we would marry? That I'm her mother?"

"No. Consciously she would never have done so, but she wasn't very careful either, I figured it out on my own before too long." Leia's eyes became wider.

"When?! When did you find out?"

"She had `forgotten´ her key and I picked her up, remember? She had already finished her internship with you but found reason after reason to spend time at the Senate and obviously wanted me to come over. In hindsight, she was quite resourceful…" He smiled. "I had little time and at first did not think much of it. But after that evening, I knew exactly why she wanted me there."

**THEN**

"Grand Admiral Thrawn. What a rare pleasure to have you here. Your niece will be here in no time. She is still working a next speech with my daughter."

"Senator Organa." Thrawn replied formally, but did not try to engage in further conversation. Bail Organa was, after all, a hot iron on the political stage.

"Would you like to see our `Think Tank´, as we call it."

Thrawn sighed.

"Why not."

Bail led him to another room that was filled with holoscreens, computers and desks. It was an open-plan office, withgood lighting, modern, light-coloured furniture and a handful of people working on high-end computers or chatting quietly in smaller groups. And in one of the corners he noticed a recessed kitchen area.

"We work on our campaignhere, check the laws and analyse the most likely reaction of the populous and the government."

There were huge statistics on brightly lid wall-panels with po and con arguments to possible fragments of a speech.

"Interesting." He scanned one of the walls and then raised an eyebrow.

"Really?"

"It's a bit risky, but we need the media's attention." Thrawn gave him a small smile.

"If you say that, I have no doubt you will get all the attention you need."

Suddenly, the door opened and Yuna and Leia entered the room.

"Hi." Yuna smiled. It was really hard not to call him Dad. Sometimes she just called him `Thrawn´ now, and more often than that, avoided calling him anything.

"Hello, Yuna. Can we go now?"

"We are almost done. Just ten more minutes, ok?"

Her huge brown eyes were pleading.

"_Pleeeease!_"

"Ten minutes. No more."

"You can sit here, Admiral." A young woman offered. "Would you like anything to drink?" He shook his head. Maybe it wasn't too bad do nothing for a change.

They seemed to be a good team, Yuna and the Princess_. _No wonder she enjoyed spending so much time here. Leia was reading, sometimes typing and Yuna highlighted words on a second datapad. Every now and then they laughed. Quite similarly, actually. Thrawn looked over to the girls, and as chance would have it, their heads were quite close to each other at that moment. They looked down on the datapad, which lay in front of Yuna, and Thrawn couldn't help but notice that the similarities didn't end there. They had the same nose - small, narrow and slightly upturned. By now, the Princess turned away again and restarted typing, whereas Yuna focused on the text. The same expression of concentration on their petite faces; identical eyes looking down.

_Oh no…_

A terrible thought entered his mind.

_Could it be?..._

_This had to be a joke!_

Both girls bit their bottom lips under pressure. The shape of Yuna's face was more like his, but the expressions on their faces…

_Sith!_

His red eyes glanced over the girls once more and he swallowed.

_Princess Leia of Alderaan? No. That was wrong on so many levels…._

Suddenly, he noticed how Yuna looked up from her pad and looked right at him. Either she could read minds or his shock must have been more obvious than intended.

Yuna stared at father and her cheeks were turning slightly purple. There was a hunted expression on her face and, all in all, she looked like a thief that had been caught stealing. _Sith! What madness would drive him to bed Leia Organa? How could they be married?!_

**NOW**

Leia laughed.

"Oh dear."

"You have no idea. You were 18 at the time and looked younger. The thought alone was… unsettling."

She laughed again.

"Some men would have liked that." She shook her head. "And now… I mean, look at me… Soon, I'll be older than you."

"You will never be older than me, my dear. And I am sure you will look as beautiful as ever."

His eyes roved across her body. She knew what he was thinking about…

"Thrawn…About what happened this afternoon" she trailed off "I ….I guess we were both quite emotional about everything that has happened…"

"You do not have to explain," he said lightly.

"But I must," she said while rising to her feet. Then she came towards him. Standing right in front of his armchair, looking down at him. She took a deep breath. Why was this so hard for Sith's shake? She was a grown-up woman. A leader. A ruler. A warrior.

"I do not regret it." She said matter-of-factly. "But it doesn't change a thing."

"So why bring it up? Why reiterate something upon which we agreed a long time ago?"

"Because we are legally bound to each other and cannot afford to call things off when things go wrong. It's too important. I do not want any misunderstandings. Any complications."

A small smile graced his face. "Spoken like a true Empress."

**TBC**

**Song: ****Ich gehör nur mir**

**The ball**

***NOW***

A subtle twist of her lips was the only sign of her noticing him; carefully scanning the crowd, she was probably the very last thing on his mind.

The ballroom was indeed majestic and imperious, with a high marble ceiling and room for hundreds of couples beneath three massive crystal-dropped chandeliers and innumerable wall-sconces, whose light fell down on the countless, ostentatious dresses of gorgeous women, making their jewels sparkle and flash. The wooden floorboards had been scraped and polished until they gleamed, and the luxurious tables and chairs were arranged beautifully, while the floral decor was extravagant beyond imagination.

What a delightful scene indeed, especially for one who observed. And Leia had learned how to observe from an early age. Everyone here had his own agenda and that agenda was not necessarily the same in the greater scheme of things – of course. But all of them were ambitious and that ambition was firm, limitless. She closed her eyes for a second. Jealousy, envy and greed were the first emotions she picked up… And all of them wanted something from her. But all of that mattered little, as everyone knew, for a fact, that life at the Empress' court was "precarious", at best. She smiled and took a small sip of wine when he finally came over and sat in the empty seat beside her.

"Good place," he said, glancing around – he was sure everyone would be able to see them up here. Especially, the people from the tabloids.

"You're late," Leia said coldly.

"My apologies. Something came up. Work."

Leia waved her hand in a dismissive fashion.

"There is no need for an explanation." Of course, there was not, as he might tell her something she didn't want to know. And if it was important, she would know anyway.

Suddenly she smiled. Slow and wide, and laced their fingers together on the armrest between them, while leaning closer. He turned around and his red eyes met her dark ones. Of course, her brilliant husband could play this game as well as she could.

"And what has gotten into you today?" he murmured, looking down at their intertwined hands. Leia chuckled as if he had made a joke or had said something nice.

"The vultures are flying, my dear. Just keep on pretending."

Of course, they were. The common enemy was in retreat and Yuna was gone. It was only a matter of time before they would be at each other's throats again. And Leia would not have it. She needed a strong Empire. A united one. Thrawn brought her hand to his lips.

"I understand."

A show of unity, of a working marriage. It wasn't pure coincidence that he kissed the hand with his ring on it. The one he had given her years ago and she had decided to wear on a regular basis, she didn't really know why. He liked buying her beautiful things. Necklaces, bracelets and this ring - a unique piece of silver and blue, consciously chosen to never be mistaken for something it was not. A wedding ring. Somehow he had never like the idea. Maybe because he didn't like to be chained. She briefly wondered if he was seeing someone else, not that it mattered – Thrawn was hers and always would be. Ring or no ring, lover or not.

"And I'm happy to see you."

"I can see that."

She shook her head but kept on smiling sweetly, while gazing at him through half-lidded eyes, like a lioness too sated to attack.

"I wouldn't get carried away if I were you."

Thrawn smiled and looked down at the people, dancing to their feet.

"What?" Leia asked, noticing the thoughtful expression on his face.

"Let us give them a little show and be done with it." He reached out his hand and led her to the dance floor.

Strangely enough, they didn't dance often. The last time had been long ago. On Naboo, if memory served right, and on their wedding, of course. Leia felt her stomach tighten at the thought. If only she could go back and tell herself ... anyway. She shook the memory away and then smiled and looked up at her husband. He was a formidable dancer and his hands were firm, flawlessly leading her through a standard imperial waltz.

In the back of her mind, Leia heard the sound of cameras. Yes, this was why they had come here. Rare publicity of the Empress with her husband. Usually, both of them preferred it to keep their public appearances professional, but in times like this, it couldn't be helped. Her dress was white satin embroidered with pearls and swept effortlessly over the floor. For a second she wished she had chosen the other dress, as this one was partially backless, but Thrawn, of course, knew how to handle her, and despite everything, she still liked to wear white to special occasions. Nostalgia, perhaps.

"Yuna would love this," Leia said after a while. "Did you know she stole my dancing shoes when I was out?"

"Yes. I saw her in the kitchen with them, but that must have been five years ago."

They danced in silence, but Leia could feel she had hit a nerve there. Maybe she shouldn't have brought her up. Or maybe there was something else….

She reached for his mind. It still felt "alien" compared to the hundreds and hundreds of human minds around her. But through the years, she had learned to read him… at least a little and there was something…something he hadn't told her.

"What is it?" She asked all of a sudden, as impatient as every Skywalker that had ever walked this galaxy.

He swung her around and pulled her towards him once more.

"Not now. Later."

"Here, you may need it." He handed her a glass of Whisky when they were finally back home. It was dark and the living room was lid up and heated by a large, stone fireplace, which was flanked on either side by overflowing bookcases and a large painting hung above it. There were high windows; polished floors, thick rugs and big, brown leather sofas. Growing up in a palace, Leia had always preferred the more classical interior. It reminded her of home, of tradition and stability and to her surprise her husband had agreed. One of many surprises to come.

Leia reached for the glass and then carefully sat down on the couch, while he poured himself another glass and sat down in the armchair opposite her. Leia watched him in the semi-darkness, the crackling fireplace behind him. The house suited him and over the years it had become hard to imagine him in any other surrounding.

"I have some news, regarding the Grysks…" He said finally and then lifted the glass to his mouth. "We may have found their homeworld."

Leia suddenly said up straighter. Finally. The chance to destroy them, and let them bleed for what they had done to her daughter. Time for revenge.

"Where?"

"Far away, behind Chiss Space. Too far away to reach with our space maps."

Leia looked at her husband. There was more to it, she could feel it.

"But if they can, surely we can too."

"It is not that easy. Our maps are old and the hyperlane routes are few and often do not work anymore, as space around Csilla is constantly changing. There is just too much debris and quite a few black holes, whose workings sometimes seem to defy logic. With Imperial navigation, our ships might crash into an asteroid, a planet or a black hole."

"How do the Chiss navigate then?" Leia asked quietly, feeling that she was on the right track.

"We use Force-sensitive children to navigate our ships."

"You do WHAT?!" Leia said unbelievingly. They used _children_? "That's…. inhuman."

"Hear me out, please." The Chiss rolled the glass in his hands. "Only some of our female children are Force sensitive. They come to us when they are six years old and the gift leaves them when they reach puberty. Then they are returned home. I can see how the use of children for such a task sounds "inhuman" to you, but my people are not Human and they have no choice. Our homeworld, Csilla, is very hostile and could not sustain all of us. We had to leave and colonize other worlds, otherwise, it would have been our downfall. There is no other way to navigate the stars around Csilla and that is also the only reason the "Unknown Regions" have remained "unknown" for such a long time."

"And how do the Grysks do it?"

"They abducted of some our children and copy our technique. Actually, I have seen it once. Years ago."

Leia put the glass down to the table with a loud thud.

"Does that mean that is the reason they took Yuna? Because they want to use her as a nav-computer?!"

Thrawn shook his head. "I doubt it. I think they just wanted her as a hostage. To use her against us."

Leia fell back into the sofa.

"Did you use children in your ship too?"

"Of course. As I have said, there is no other way."

Leia shook her head vehemently.

"And how do you choose the children?" She asked finally.

"All children with the gift have to go and it is an honour to do so for the good of the Ascendancy." Leia eyes grew wide.

"Would you have given Yuna for the good of the Ascendancy?"

"I never had to face that choice."

"That is not an answer!"

"I would have." He said after a while.

"How _COULD _you _ever_?!" Leia asked, for the first time in her marriage actually feeling the cultural gap that divided them.

"Humans only think of themselves, whereas we are raised in the belief that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. Or the individual. But that does not mean that we do not love our children. We do. They are most precious to us. They are our future. In that, we do not differ from Humans. We take good care of the children and most of them survive, though they are gone for a long time and often barely remember their parents when they return."

"I would NEVER part with her." Leia said, her voice partly betraying the hurt she felt.

"I know." He said quietly. "I am not sure if that helps, but I am glad our daughter never had to go."

Leia's mind brushed his. She had never doubted the Chiss' love for their daughter, but to give her away to serve on a _battleship for years! _Leia closed her eyes briefly.

"Leia?" Apparently, she had been lost in thoughts. She checked the chromo. It was getting late too.

"Sorry." She took another sip from the glass. "So what do you suggest we do now? Contact the Ascendancy?" She asked.

"The Ascendancy would never interfere in our problems with the Grysks. Unwise as that might be." He sighed. "And I have no longing for home."

"But we need their help."

"There is an alternative." He suggested vaguely.

"Is there?" Leia asked surprised. If there was one, she couldn't see it.

"You could navigate the fleet." Leia's jaw almost hit the floor.

"I? I…I wouldn't know how! And even if… I have an Empire to run!"

**TBC**

**Unknown Regions**

**NOW**

Leia wasn't sure why she had agreed to her husband's insane plan. Perhaps she had thought that escaping Coruscant meant escaping the pain of losing her daughter. That it wouldn't hurt as much if she wouldn't see the door to her empty bedroom or the empty seat in the kitchen. Naturally, such thoughts were foolish.

Three weeks had passed since they had left the capital and now, finally, they had reached the Unknown Regions. Everything felt different here. There were so few habitable planets around and even in the Force the whole region felt empty and cold.

Emotionless, Leia climbed down into the crew pit, while the eyes of all the crewers were upon her. When she'd reached the helm console, she lowered herself onto the black chair and reached for the ship's controls. Thrawn had explained to her how it worked and she had a good memory.

"Prepare for lightspeed," The Grand Admiral called from above.

"Systems clear." A female crew member confirmed.

"All navigation control to _Chimera_."

"Confirmed." The woman said again.

Thrawn looked down at Leia.

"My Empress, the fleet is yours."

Leia nodded and then closed her eyes. Stretching out to the Force, she touched the hyperdrive. And then, pushed it into the right direction whenever she noticed a danger. It actually seemed to work. And it wasn't too difficult either. After a while, it was almost like driving a speeder. You did not think about what you did, you just did it, while your thoughts were somewhere else entirely…

** THEN **

To her surprise, her father had bought both houses. One for living and one for renovating/preserving.

Yuna jumped up on her new bed and then let herself crush into the cushions again. The place was great! Everything was light and welcoming. She had a large bed and a big desk in front of a window that could also be used as a screen! She had a remote control and switched through the channels. One showed a desert, one a forest, one a water-world, the next an ice-planet and the last one was the real Coruscant again. For a brief second, she wondered if she could reprogram it to show Holos. _That would be grant! _But knowing her Dad her chances were slim at best. Anyway, she would try. Maybe this version of her father was blissfully unaware of her technological skills. A small smile appeared on her face. Fun.

She also had a white bookcase and a large closet which was still more or less empty. She really had to go shopping again – without Dad. Definitely without him.

Yuna went into the kitchen were Katyana showed the droids where to place what.

"Katyana?"

The young woman turned around.

"Could we go shopping?"

Shopping with Katyana had been great. She was young enough to know what was "in" these days and she was really easy to talk to.

Yuna put the last of her bags into one of the Mall's speeder's, which then brought her stuff right back home.

"I really think you should buy some things yourself now."

The blonde woman smiled.

"I haven't been paid yet and life on Coruscant is expensive."

Yuna looked at her with large eyes.

"Do you have money problems? You do get paid, don't you?"

"Yes, of course, and no, I do not have money problems, but Coruscant is an exclusive place and I help my parents out sometimes… You will understand that when you're older."

Yuna thought about it. Actually, money had never been an issue. She had not gotten all she wanted…far from it, but the reasons for not getting something had never been monetary ones.

After some considerable effort, Yuna had persuaded Katyana to buy a white summer dress that was on sale. It was really beautiful. When she was older she would wear such things.

The next weeks till her father's return had been rather uneventful. Thanks to Katyana's efforts the new house soon felt "homey" and school had gotten better too.

Some idiot, whose aunt apparently was the school's secretary, had blurted out that Yuna was the niece of Grand Admiral Thrawn and after that, the stupid remarks had stopped. Yuna wasn't sure how to feel about that. The members of the human bully club surely hadn't changed their minds about her and the only reason they had shut up was her dad's position. Not that she minded them shutting up…but there was something extremely nagging about the fact that SHE hadn't made them shut up. That she hadn't managed to change their minds or force them into silence herself. Some of them had even tried to befriend her now, which was ridiculous! Ashley, for example, had suddenly been all friendly and had come over in the cafeteria to asked if she didn't want to sit with them.

"Not if you would pay me." Subtle – not. Her dad would have hated it. She was impulsive and way too often gave in into her emotions. It wasn't something she was particularly proud of, but sometimes it felt like she couldn't control it or like the Force was controlling her. Ashley's Force aura was like a nuclear waste plant. Her company was toxic and she, obviously, disliked her. Well, in the end, Yuna had just passed her by and had sat down with Tilly.

"It was about time that someone showed that arrogant doll her place."

"It wasn't the best way of handling the situation though…You never know when you might need them again and like this, I cast myself out."

"Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer? Well, that train has passed."

"Yes, it has. If my Dad had seen it, I surely would've gotten a lecture in strategic diplomacy." Yuna made a face.

"It must be hard for you...talking about your Dad."

"Huh?"

"He passed recently, didn't he?"

Yuna almost bit her tongue. _Blast! She had to be more careful!_

"Yes…But it's ok now. Really."

Tilly studied her face.

"Now that I know….You look a bit like your uncle…But it's still hard to believe. My friend, my only friend, is the niece and foster child of kriffing Grand Admiral Thrawn! Your uncle is a living legend, you know… How is he? I mean in person?"

"Normal. He is just my uncle." Judging by Tilly's face, her answer was not what she had hoped for.

"Tilly…I'm the same person I was yesterday. They…" she nodded at Ashley and her gang. "…are silly and now you start behaving silly too. I am not famous or anything…. I'm just Yuna and that's it."

"Ok, just Yuna, I need your Sy Bisti homework then."

Yuna smiled. "Why am I not surprised by that?"

**NOW**

Leia was afraid. A strange feeling. Like somebody took the ground away from under your feet. All of a sudden. And, strangely enough, you blame yourself: You were so stupid…so naïve…so arrogant. And now all is gone. All that is important anyway. Why had she gone with the fleet into the Unknown Regions? Why should she still care? About the Empire? The galaxy? Humanity? It seemed so worthless now.

_My fault…._

_I shouldn't have left her alone…_

_I shouldn't have provoked them…_

She couldn't eat. The thought alone made her sick. The stars flow by in long stripes outside the large viewport window. She felt hollow inside. Everything was dead.

The comm signal squeaked and Leia looked at the tiny screen next to her bed. Thrawn.

The comm squeaked again. She couldn't care less. Slowly she turned around and after the third attempt, the Chiss left.

"I am glad to hear things on Coruscant go well, General Skywalker." Thrawn said and then saved the data on a chip.

"If you do not mind me asking, where is my sister?"

Thrawn sighed and let himself fall back into his chair.

"Perhaps it is time we talked about her." He said after a while.

Luke raised an eyebrow and his hologram started to rattle slightly.

"Is something the matter with her? Is she ill?"

Apart from his eyes, the ominous red of the war display in the centre of the table was the only light-source in the Admiral's room, creating a rather gloomy feeling.

"Admiral?"

Thrawn remained silent for a while.

"Navigating is taking up most of her time and Yuna's absence is hitting her hard. She tries to hide it, but she is lost and vulnerable at the moment. She needs someone to comfort her and I believe you are the best candidate for that."

Luke smiled and shook is head.

"What?"

"Consider it a personal favour. I would be grateful if you would talk to her."

"Thrawn… surely you should be the one ... You are her husband."

"In name only. Your sister has never harboured any favourable feelings for me."

"You don't really believe that, do you?" Luke leaned back and then looked up to the ceiling, before eyeing the Chiss again.

"My sister is not as cold as you might think. She has feelings."

"Of course she does. That is the reason I ask for your help."

"No. She has feelings for you, she is just too stubborn to allow them." He smiled. "Do you really think she would have put up with you for this long if she disliked you? You would be dead and buried, and not her publicly acknowledged husband."

"Our marriage has little to do with _like_."

"Yes, I know. All for the good of the galaxy." Luke's eyes twinkled mischievously.

"It is not like that."

"It certainly seems like both of you decided to believe that. But as your brother in law and as a Jedi I tell you my sister has feelings for you. Don't let her go."

Maybe it was foolish and it was definitely wrong, but over the years Thrawn had learned to appreciate the Force and if General Skywalker thought it best to ignore his sister's privacy, he would do it.

_Security override accepted. _The datapad said and then he ejected the key-cylinder. It was his ship…still, it did not feel good. He pushed the datapad away and then walked down towards Leia's cabin again. He glanced at the control panel. It was worth a try. He pushed the button, waited for a couple of seconds and then used his key-cylinder.

"Get up."

Leia nearly jumped at the sound of his voice.

_How come she hadn't noticed him coming? Had she gotten so used to his presence that the Force did not warn her anymore?_

He walked past the bed and switched on the light.

"You missed your brother's weekly review. He sends his regards." Leia looked up and hated everything about him. His strength and his insufferable confidence.

"What are you doing here?!" She hissed.

"I have seen enough of your wailing."

"Wailing?!"

"Yes, wailing."

"You better mind your tongue if you care to keep it."

"As an Empress, you should know that is foolish to make threats you do not intend to carry out. Even if you are depressed."

"Mind your station, Admiral!"

_Depressed? She wasn't depressed! She was a fighter. After the destruction of Alderaan, SHE had been the one soothing Luke, who had been crying over Obi-Wan, a man he'd barely known. But, she had NOT cried. At least not in public. She had led a bloody rebellion!_

"How did you enter my room?"

He threw some of her clothes on the bed.

"Get dressed." He said without offering an explanation.

"What if I don't?"

"I might just do it myself and drag you out."

"How dare you! Who do you think you are?! Talking to me like that?"

"I am your husband." The word that was rarely - never really - spoken out hung like a ghost in the air. "A position that comes with more disamenities than privileges, I assure you." There was a brief pause.

"Get dressed." He repeated and to his surprise, she did.

"Did it ever cross your supposedly brilliant mind that not opening my door meant that I do not want to see you."

"Yes, but sometimes you do not know what is best for you."

"And you do?"

"You always have to turn everything into a fight." He sighed. "No. I do not pretend to know you better than you do. But I know that what you are doing here cannot be good."

_She was not really depressed, was she? Depressed people lay in bed all day and felt sorry for themselves. She got up every day and did her duty and THEN went to bed to feel sorry for herself… Maybe it had been too much. Everything that had happened in last decades. Life had been like a train that she witnessed derailing in slow motion. Nothing had been like she had envisioned her life. She had been nothing but a slave of her position and once her little girl had been gone… Well, maybe he was right…maybe she was depressed. Maybe she needed to get out of here. _Wordlessly she pulled up her boots' zipper and then reached for the black jacket. He held out a toothbrush.

"You are insufferable."

"Likewise."

Leia hit the floor for the sixth time.

_Damn it! Why did she keep falling for that?!_

They had practised for about 30 minutes now, and to say that she was doing fine would be a lie. She was unfocused and unbalanced. She hadn't meditated in weeks and fighting without the Force felt like fighting blind. Plus, she hadn't really known what to expect, so the first time he had attacked, he had actually tried to punch her in the face, which had shocked her like nothing else. He had never tried to hurt her before and only in the last minute she had managed to dodge, otherwise, that blow would have been pretty painful. Then she had retreated and had yelled at him what on Earth he thought he was doing and then he had simply kicked her off her feet. She had hit the mat hard and all the oxygen had left her lungs. Luckily frustration always worked in her favour and then things had gotten a little better. He was holding back, she could feel it. But it was good to fight again. To find a valve for her frustration and self-hatred.

An hour later, she was dripping sweat all over, and their differences in skill became more and more apparent. She just couldn't keep up. The differences in hight and weight were also working in his favour. Soon, her hands were shaking and she hurt all over.

"I think we should stop."

Leia nodded.

"Sounds like a good idea." She said breathlessly and watched the Chiss go over to a corner.

He entered a passcode and suddenly a combat droid walked out of a hidden closet. Once its red eyes had found the Chiss, it attacked. The blows were quick and hard, but to Leia's surprise, Thrawn had little difficulty to fight the droid. He really was in good shape and when he hit the droid, he hit him hard, like his bones too were made out of durasteel, crushing the monster against the next wall. Apparently, her husband was capable of killing with more than a light-pen and battle plans.

"Execute command Ruhk." He said and all of a sudden, the droid stopped.

The Chiss turned around and looked at Leia.

"My usual sparring partner."

"Impressive." She said as she walked around the steel monster. "Kuat?"

"Yes." He nodded. "I have several of them and you may use them whenever you want." The Chiss pointed at the droid's arm. "It has seven levels. I suggest you use level one. To start, you simply push the green button here and the deactivating code you just heard."

Leia nodded.

"Thanks for the offer. I might use it."

This was actually a good idea. It wasn't lightsaber training, but still, a good method to keep focus.

They separated at the changing rooms, took a shower and then went back to Leia's room.

"Dinner?"

The Chiss raised an eyebrow and suspiciously eyed her.

"What is it now?!" Leia asked, irritated.

"The last time you were this nice, I almost died." He smiled faintly. "You cannot blame me for being cautious."

"You mean suspicious." Leia corrected. "Maybe I just want to thank you."

"That would be very out of character for you, my dear."He said slowly as he sat down at the table.

Leia walked into the kitchen and got out with two plates.

"Well, I _do _want to thank you. You were… right." The words obviously did not come out easy. "And I want to ask you something."

"I wonder what that could be…"

"I just thought we could have dinner and you could tell me about Yuna. About her life in the past that is. I found our recent chat quiet…. agreeable."

"Indeed."

"I am glad you agree."

And somehow this evening started a routine. Of course, they could not train together every day, but they started to have dinner, and, sometimes, coffee.

**TBC**

**Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war**

**THEN**

He had forgotten her birthday. Yuna looked at some of the students as she walked down the long hall to her classroom. Her father had never forgotten her birthday before. It was on her new, "fake" ID, so he should know, but he probably didn't care. From his point of view, there were thousands of other important things to worry about and her birth hadn't really happened yet…Still, it hurt.

"Thanks for waiting for me." Yuna shot at Tilly, while sitting down.

"Sorry. I thought you were already here."

"Well, I wasn't."

"Someone's in a good mood today."

Yuna tried to ignore the comment and put her books and exercise books on the table.

Today's history lesson was boring. The fall of the Republic. Again. There were so many other great subjects and the galaxy was a large place.

"… and that was when our great Emperor Palpatine ended the Clone Wars and founded our glorious Empire."

"If it's so glorious how come there's a Rebellion at every corner?" Yuna uttered under breath while packing her things, but to her misfortune, it had come out louder than anticipated.

"Miss Nuruodo, would you please repeat that?"

_Great. Just great!_

"I was nothing, Sir."

"Good." The teacher said briefly and then turned to the projection again.

"Coward." Jason hissed from behind.

Yuna felt her blood cooking. _Idiot! He annoyed her, her father annoyed her and this bloody lesson annoyed her. This was rubbish! Propaganda! And she knew it because she knew the history books of the future!_

"Actually, I said that if the Empire would be so glorious there wouldn't be so many uprisings."

The classroom was dead-quiet.

"Palpatine is a dictator. The Empire has virtually no effect on the daily life of the average, law-abiding citizen, especially within the Core. But make no mistake, he is still a dictator and not a chancellor. Palpatine, who, by the way, still rules by emergency decree, got rid of all political opposition once he was in power. One might argue that we still have the Senate, but everyone with half a brain can see that the Senate is a charade played to calm down the general populace, of whom many, including almost all non-humans, do not feel represented anymore. The real power lies within the Empire's military might, which spreads fear and costs the tax-payer a fortune. Basic rights were sacrificed for the sake of "security and stability". "Security and stability" were also the reason the Empire invaded and conquered dozens of planets in the Rim during the last decade. Those planets never asked to be part of the Empire…. That's hardly glorious." She leaned back against the chair and crossed her arms in front of her chest, in a defensive gesture.

To her great relieve the bell ended the lesson, but Mr. Grise made her stay anyway. Extra homework. An essay about the benefits of the Empire, which she would have to present in front of the class - tomorrow. _What a wonderful birthday present! How could this day possibly get any worse?_

Something woke her. Yuna still sat at her desk, piles of books and active datapads around her.

_How late was it?_

She checked the chrono. 5 o'clock in the morning.

_Damn it!_

And her bloody essay wasn't finished yet.

She yawned, drank a sip of the now cold tea and then decided to get a fresh one. Two more hours till she had to leave. That was doable. The main part of the essay was finished anyway.

She took the mug and the book she wanted to return, walked down the hall to the bookshelf in the sitting room and then froze.

_Was that…?_

Without thinking she hid behind the shelve.

Katyana, wearing nothing but her underwear, coming out of her father's bedroom! The tall blonde went to the toilet and quietly closed the door.

Yuna leaned against the wall and then sat down on the floor. Did this mean that her father and her... that they were...that they...?! She nearly hyperventilated.

"_I'm the Nanny's baby." _She heard Tilly's voice in her head. _"My mum was Rupert's Nanny. When I came to school he gave me hell."_

Oh God…What if Katyana and her Dad…She did not even want to THINK about it! Dad was with mum! And SHE was the only kid around!

All of a sudden, she hated Katyana with a passion that was new to her. She would not steal her father! Her family! Katyana was a nobody. What in the name of the Emperor went wrong here?! HER mum was the Empress! She was larger than life! She was a Sith! The daughter of Lord Vader! And Katyana was what? Her father could not love her! Could he?

She saw the bathroom door open again and the half-naked woman walked into her room this time.

_Right. That's where you belong! No. That was wrong…. She did not belong here at all._

Yuna stood back up and practically threw the book back into the shelf.

_This had been the worst birthday of her life! And Katyana…Katyana had to go!_

During the next couple of days, Yuna had done everything she could to turn Katyana's life into living hell.

"I said no!" Katyana said, this time with more authority.

"Damn it, Yuna. What is wrong with you?"

"With me? Sorry, but I think you got something wrong. You see, the fact that you two are sleeping together now, doesn't make you my mum."

_There. She had finally said it!_

Katyana turned to Yuna.

"I'm sorry?!"

"You heard me."

"I don't believe this." She said and just gaped at Yuna.

"He'll dump you, you know." She said coldly and poured herself some orange juice. "You will never be important to him."

"Why are you saying those things to me?"

_So she was hurt. Good._

"You're pathetic and I don't have to do a damn thing you say."

With that she left the kitchen.

She knew she would be in trouble for this and she was not looking forward to it. At 10:30 pm the door to her bedroom opened. She pretended to be asleep, but already knew it wouldn't work. She felt the mattress shift and the tiny lamp on the nightstand lid up.

"Yuna?"

His voice was as calm as ever.

"It's late and I'm asleep."

"No, you are not."

She turned around and looked that the ceiling.

"You know why I am here, don't you?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"But I do."

"Ok. I will apologize. I know this kind of stuff is important to you. Are we done?"

"No."

Well, this would have been to easy anyway.

"Why did you say those things to Katyana?"

"Why do you sleep with her?" Yuna practically spit back and for the first time looked him in the eye.

"You do not agree." It was not a question.

"NO I DON'T! OF COURSE, I DON'T!"

"Why?"

"Why?! Did you really just asked me WHY?!" Yuna got up. "Because she isn't mum!" There were tears in her eyes. "This is wrong!"

"Maybe it is not. Maybe this here is exactly how it is supposed to be."

"NO! You love mum!"

"Not now, Yuna. The time you come from is years in the future."

She was just shaking by now.

"But Dad... I know how this works...when she …. when you two..." She was crying in honest by now. "You'll have a baby with HER and you'll love HER and not mum and if you don't love mum, I'll never be born."

He laughed. "I see. You are afraid you might not exist."

"This is all my fault. If I weren't here, Katyana wouldn't be here."

"Yuna, do you know how babies are made?"

"Of course I do! I'm not a child anymore!"

"How?"

"When two people really, really like each other they get a baby."

"Is that all?"

"That's what mum said!" She got all red in the face. "I guess they kiss a lot and sleep in the same bed, like in the holos."

Her father was still waiting.

"And I know that they don't have to be married to get a baby, as my best friend is the Nanny's baby and her dad, Admiral Kennedy, is still married to his wife….I don't think mum would marry you if had a child with Katyana."

"I see. Well, your mother's version of how to make babies left out some details. Let us just say that Katyana and I will not have children."

"So, I was right. You don't love her. Not really."

He sighed.

"Your look on the galaxy is a very innocent one."

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing." He tucked her back in. "Go to sleep now. And try not to worry about Katyana."

"Daddy?"

"Yes?"

"Promise that you will never love Katyana like you love mum ..."

"Yuna, that is ..."

"Please, promise ..."

He sighed softly and covered Yuna.

"Alright. I promise. Do you feel better now?"

Yuna smiled.

"Yes. Good night Daddy."

"Good night."

**NOW**

Their plan was bold but do-able. Breakthrough their defences, destroy and planetary shield and take their home planet hostage. But somehow things did not feel right. There were flashes of bright light everywhere. Leia crashed hard against a window and heard an officer's scream, who fell down into one the large command trenches and then, all hell broke loose.

The whole Star Destroyer tilted and then the light went out, when Leia looked out of the window next to her she was happy for the emptiness of the `Unknown Regions´ as, apparently, they were falling into the nothingness of space and not right into the next planet or another vehicle.

She heard the dark voice of Captain Pellaeon booming orders as more and more circuits overheated and started to burn. Then she noticed the first large fire downstairs and a loud, quirking noise filled the air.

_Sith! They had lost control over the ship and were floating!_

Suddenly, the strange-looking fighters surrounded the _Chimarea _and opened fire.

_What was happening? Was this part of the plan?!_

Her eyes searched for her husband, then she spotted him downstairs, hovering over a console with two other officers, while Pellaeon sat down in the command chair and buckled up.

"Prepare to execute emergency order 3." Pellaeon commanded. "NOW!"

All electricity went down and it became pitch black, gravity was failing too and Leia held onto a window frame. As suddenly as the light had switched off and it went on again and Leia crushed to the ground, like many others and it was literally raining datapads.

"The engine is back online, Sir." A young male yelled, relieve written all over his face.

"Shields and weapons fully operational, Sir." Lieutenant Gata reported.

"Good. Weapons to full power." Pellaeon ordered. "Barrage. Now."

Leia saw several of the smaller fighters explode.

"40 down and another 72 enemy fighters closing in at one-two-zero mark four-two." A petite female reported, observing one of the tactical displays.

More and more of the red dots assembled into an attack formation and approached the _Chimaera._

"All batteries commence fire!"

A storm of fire surrounded the _Chimera_, red and green. It was so bright Leia had to close her eyes and look away. Her heart was racing; she had no idea what was going on and what had suddenly happened. Reality was so much worse than what she had seen in HoloMovies. There was fear and panic and chaos and everyone worked purely on autopilot and discipline.

"Launch TIE fighters." Pellaeon ordered.

"TIEs, cleared to launch." A female voice said over the speakers and was probably also heard by all the pilots in the TIEs.

A second later, the space fighters shot out of their launch tubes and moved right into attack formation to engage the enemy. They were obviously trying to break their formation, pushing the fighters away from the _Chimera_, whereas another squadron and a frigate were on their way to one of the larger ships, the _Vigilance _provided them with fire protection. Leia wished she could be in on one of TIEs. She felt so useless here.

The heavy bombardment continued and again the Chimaera shuddered, while consoles all around her sparked and shattered and then she felt it. Pain. But it was not her pain.

_What? _She looked around and then she saw him, lying on the floor, covered in blood. _THRAWN! _Next to him, another officer, also covered in blood, the later was obviously dead.

_Was he..._ _No! He couldn't be dead_ _! Not him, not now, not… like this!_

Leia ran forward.

_If he were to die, she would let loose fire and fury in the likes the galaxy had not seen!_

_He couldn't die_ _! He couldn't... He just couldn't!_

She rushed down the ladder into the trench. A med team was already around him.

_Force, please let him be alive!_

Two men put him on a stretcher and she heard him moan in pain. Good. That meant he was alive. Barely, but alive. He looked terrible and there was so much blood.

"Thrawn?"

His eyes snapped open at the sound of her voice.

"My Empress." He said quietly.

Suddenly, the title hurt. If he were to die and this would be the last words he'd said to her…Leia rushed forward, but the medics held her back and put an oxygen mask on his mouth. His eyes closed.

"My Empress. Please let us do our work."

She was terrified. A feeling she had almost forgotten.

"Help him. Or suffer the consequences!"

It was all she could do.

"Of course, my Lady." With that, they left and Leia clenched her fists so hard, her fingernails pushed painfully into her delicate skin.

Then she looked up. The battle - she had almost forgotten about it.

"Damage control!" Pellaeon bellowed somewhere above her. Leia looked at him. He was also wincing in pain from the last impact.

"We can't take much more of this, Sir, shields down to 15%."

"What about the Grysks?"

"Still coming, Sir!" The female officer said and Leia felt simultaneous panic through the ranks.

"Sir, Captain Faro is asking if she is supposed to pursue them?"

Pellaeon shook his head. "No. Let them. All ships retreat to meeting point Alpha 2. Micro jump. Now."

They had lost in more than one way. 72 pilots had died, as had 32 soldiers during the bombardment, four of them officers. And there were many, many wounded. Leia didn't even want to think of the extant of the repair work - here, so far out, in the middle of nowhere.

Her eyes fell down on her husband, one of many who currently occupied sickbay. It felt strange seeing him so helpless. He was still not conscious and forcefully kept in a coma, because otherwise, he would fight the plastic tube that disappeared down his throat and helped him breathe. There were so many wires, connected to the display panels above the head of the bed, monitoring his vital signs. And more tubes descending from plastic bags releasing medicine and nutrients into his veins. He had suffered extensive internal injuries, eight broken ribs and a large flesh wound on the left thigh, and he had lost a lot of blood, which had turned out to be a real problem… He was so pale… Yes, of course, there had been some own-blood emergency infusions, but not nearly enough. He had been in surgery for eleven hours straight and she could only hope that Chiss blood regenerated quicker than human blood did. Otherwise, they had little choice but to try infusions with the Human blood type 0-. Leia swore under her breath, the doctors knew so little of about Chiss physiology they just used the Human standard and adjusted it as good as they could, while constantly observing the Chiss. He was not in a critical state anymore, but he wasn't out of danger either. She reached out for his hand.

"You have to get better." She wasn't sure why she did this. "We all need you." Some people believed that people in a coma could hear you if talked to them. "Depend on you." She wasn't sure if she did, but there was no hurt in trying. "Yuna needs you." She added after a while. "I need you." It was barely more than a whisper.

Yes, she did. She needed him. Not just on the battlefield, but in her life. They had been forced into this marriage, both of them. And had done their duty, but their marriage had not been without some genuine love and affection as some believed. Leia sighed. The day she had broken up with Han, her heart had been full of hurt and anger and thus she had closed it off completely. Especially to her future husband. Looking back, she had done him injustice for a long time. Then her heart had softened towards him, slowly, gradually… When they had talked business late at night in front of the fireplace, when she had found her daughter sleeping by his side, when he had been working late at night at his desk. She had made love to him and she had carried his child… He had been exactly what she needed, everything she was not: Calm, analytical, considered. But also strong, willful, a devoted father and an attentive husband. But as much as her heart had softened towards him, her head hadn't. She had willed him away. She didn't know why…stubbornness perhaps? Or the fear of having her heart broken again? She had often told herself she had been forced to marry him. And that it was better to not complicate things. That it would be better to not let him come too close. But it had been rubbish, hadn't it? Otherwise, why was her heart aching so much? Did she love him? Had it happened without her noticing? Had it taken this much for her to realize it? She only knew she did not want him to die.

"Come back to me."

After two more days of uncertain, the Grand Admiral had recovered and after another day spent in sickbay he was now back in quarters.

"I knew you would do this," Leia said nodding at the pile of datapads on his nightstand, while leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed. "The doctor said you should rest."

"Are you concerned about my wellbeing?"

"Are you surprised?" Leia asked in return.

Her dark dress rustled while she was walked along the bed in the semi-darkness. Slowly, she sat down by his side.

"I would have been most displeased to lose you."

Not just displeased… She vividly remembered seeing her strong husband lying on that grey durasteel floor. Red blood on his white uniform, a gaping hole in his thigh. There had been so much blood. And the realisation alone that he _could _die, had hurt. Thrawn had been in so many battles and had returned victoriously that she had, somehow, taken him for granted. But he was just as mortal as the rest of them and warrior's fortune had finally failed him.

"A realisation worth some pain." He said, probably guessing what was on her mind.

"How are you? You look pale." Leia asked, watching him closely.

His head rested on a black pillow and as much as he suppressed it, she could see that he was in pain.

Thrawn said he was fine and that the pain would fade, but he didn't look fine. His otherwise blue skin was almost ashen and his eyes did not glow as vibrantly as they used to and... it worried her.

"Let me be the judge of that." She said softly and brushed away some hair strains from his forehead, before laying her fingers against his temple, reaching out with the Force. Luke had given her some healing lessons years ago and up until now, she had only used her healing abilities to soothe her daughter's pain when she had fallen or cut herself. But this here was a different matter entirely. She reached out slowly, analysing the damage. The doctors had already repaired most of the damage, but still, she was able to soothe the muscles, mend the tendons, stabilise the broken bones and - she lightly touched his mind - to ease the pain... She could literally feel his body relax when the pain left his consciousness.

"Better?" She asked quietly and then let her hand slide down from his temple, onto the side of his face.

Thrawn opened his eyes and looked directly into hers. He took several deep breaths. There was something there, that hadn't been there before.

"Thank you."

Then he felt Leia's hand wander further down, there were soft touches on his chest and his abdomen, then her small fingers glided down into the waistband of his shorts, before lightly touching his cock. A soft hiss escaped his lips and then he shifted ever so slightly to press himself harder against the delicious touch. It had been so long since she had ...

All of a sudden, she looked up at him, probably because she thought she had caused him pain. She opened her mouth to utter an apology, but before the words had come out, the Chiss had somehow managed to push himself up and captured her lips in a gentle kiss.

Leia wasn't sure what was going on, but within moments of his gentle ministrations, she felt herself being pulled down. Conscious to put no weight on his ribs, she tossed off her shoes, climbed under the thin blanket, straddled his midsection and returning the Chiss' kiss.

_What in the name of the Force was she thinking? Seducing her hurt and immobilised husband like this? _She could hurt him. They could wait.

When they broke the kiss, Leia leaned back and looked down on him.

"You better finished what you have started" He reached for her hips and then mustered up enough strength to lift his hips to let her feel his growing erection.

"Maybe we should wait until you're healed," Leia said, touching the side of his face again.

"No." He pulled her back down. "I want you. Now."

Their lips met again.

"Yes." Leia hushed. "I want you too." She smiled. "I'll be careful."

They kissed and Leia continued to caress him. His breathing increased in accordance.

"Leia..."

She hooked her fingers into the waistband and carefully pulled the shorts down his legs and off over his feet. With a swift movement, she then took off her own slip.

Still otherwise fully dressed she crawled into the bed again. They had never done it like this. Moving over him, she lifted her dress and straddled him once more. Her knees were pushing into the mattress now as she slowly took the tip of him inside. Then she heard him gasp.

"Do you like this?" She asked seductively.

"Yes."

"Good. Look at me." She commanded.

Sith, she was warm and wet and _Sith!_, he needed more! Their eyes were locked when she took him further in, centimetre by centimetre, excruciatingly slow, and he moaned when she finally seated herself fully on him. Pleasure shooting up his spine. She was so tight. So wet. Instinctively, he gripped her waist and brought his hips up, burying himself deeper into her.

Then she started to move. He closed his eyes and held onto her waist. She rocked back and forth, making his cock move inside her. _So good. _His breath was staggered when she tightened around him, tighter, always tighter and soon he felt his orgasm draw close.

He growled and held her hips so she couldn't move.

"Thrawn… I…"

At that moment, his hips bucked, trusted deep inside her. Again he slammed into her. And then he felt her come. She moaned in pleasure, her head fell back and then she pulsated around him, squeezed him, begged him to come and he did. A harsh sound filled the room when he released his seed into her.

Leia's eyes were closed and she breathed heavily.

_God, what had just happened?_

Unwise as it may have been, Leia stayed the night. Her dress hung loosely over a chair and one of the Chiss' black, imperial standard T-shirts served as a makeshift nightdress.

Leia looked out of the window and still couldn't sleep.

"What now… We came all this way and now we cannot push through their defense line." She asked her head on his shoulder, looking up. "I did not come here to lose."

The two red eyes opened and faintly illuminated the dark.

"Plan B." He said calmly.

"There is a plan B?"

He smiled. "There is always a plan B… and C."

"So how do we get through?"

"We don't. We need something that can do considerable harm, from a considerable distance."

"Something like the Death Star." Leia breathed. She couldn't believe she'd actually said that. She hated the Death Star with all her being, but now it would have come in handy.

"You don't need a Death Star to destroy a planet". Thrawn said quietly. "A supernova is quite enough."

"A supernova?" Leia asked surprised.

"Yes. If it is close by, it will shred the planet's magnetic field, bathing the surface with lethal radiation that will kill all life that is not buried deep within the ground. A supernova occurring a little further away will still produce enough radiation to destroy a planet. It will still produce enough radiation to destroy the ozone layer in the upper atmosphere. Ultraviolet light will stream in, destroying the plants, resulting in starvation, collapse and death. Everything within 50 lightyears will suffice. It would take a bit longer. Two standard months perhaps, but it would also be fatal. We only have to make sure that no one can leave the system. Asteroids, space mines, a large-scale blockade"

"And, in theory, could we do it? Make a star go supernova?"

"Simple physics, really." He reached out for his datapad that lay on his nightstand and then zoomed into the star charts.

"Binary stars, my dear, consist of two stars. Hence, the name. One of them is white and full a carbon-oxygen. It is greedy and likes to steal from star number too. But, depending on size and distance, there is only so much it can take. Once that critical point is reached, it goes supernova."

"And we can influence that intake?"

He nodded. "Our scientists would have to change the torpedoes first. But then…" He made a swipe with his hand. "Three or four of them, rightly paced, should be enough." He stopped briefly and looked at the ceiling. "We could micro jump out. And come back later, to eradicate the escape vessels."

"This is a terrible plan. Starving people to death. I wanted to destroy their army, not their race, their culture."

"What I offer is the end of a 15-year war." His eyes met hers. "And war is rarely glorious outside the victor's history book."

"I am not a monster."

He sighed and his hand slowly glided underneath her shirt and up her back.

"Do you know the story of Carthage?"

Leia shook her head. "No."

"An interesting chapter of Human history. Hannibal Barca was without a doubt, one of the greatest military commanders of his time. Some of his strategies are still taught at military school's today. His greatest victory was the Battle of Cannae. He surprised the Roman enemy by undertaking something no one dared or dreamed of before: Taking the route over the Alps. Many died, but soon the Empire's capital lay at his feet, ready for the taking, but he hesitated..." The Chiss sighed. "Hannibal was a great tactician on the battlefield, but he failed to understand the Roman soul. Romans did not surrender and for them, it was better to lose their lives than their honour..." There was another pause and his hand went down her back again, before protectively settling at her waist.

"Hannibal stayed in Rome for 15 years and waited for a surrender that never came. In the meantime, the Roman forces regrouped and attacked his home, Carthage. There, the Romans did what Hannibal feared to do. They killed everyone, burned the city to the ground, carried away stone after stone and scattered salt into their field so that nothing would ever grow there again. They completely obliterated their enemy. Their culture, their history." He looked down at Leia. "Hannibal committed suicide and the Roman Empire became the leading force for Human civilization."

"A terrible story."

"But an educational one. The Grysks are like the Romans, Leia. Hesitate now and it could be your downfall. They are still surprised by our visit and we are still close enough to this binary star. 15 years of war, and this is the most efficient way to end it."

Of course, he was right. But...

"Billions of people have died, Leia...They wanted to kill our daughter."

She nodded.

"Alright. I shall be Humanity's monster then."

"You are not a monster, Leia, you are Human and you have to make a choice not many leaders have to face. But if it does indeed turn you into a monster, then let me reassure you that we are both beyond redemption…"

A single tear ran down her cheek and onto his chest. Yes, they were murderers. Both of them. But this was war and she could only hope that the Force would forgive them. _Otherwise, the price for their sins would surely be a terrible one…_

**TBC**

Chapter song: Nichts, nichts, gar nichts

**Parents' evening**

**A/N:** I know it has been a long time, but my job was rather demanding last month. But here's a short update. Enjoy!

**THEN**

**Parents' evening**

Teachers. A very special bread of humans. Terribly confident and all-knowing…. yes…only that that is not the case. Especially not on parents' evening, not on Coruscant, not at this school.

Mr Grise sat behind his large desk. He was wearing a tweed jacket and a tie that was more on the showy side of things. Mr Grise was one of the teachers you shouldn't cross; he was tall, almost huge, had a deep voice, a rather strange sense of humour and almost all students were afraid of him. Carefully, he put down his lightpens in front of him - in a very straight line, with exactly the same distance between them, then he opened his tiny computer with all the grades on it. Yes, these are the kind of things you do when you get nervous, and parents' evenings could facilitate such a feeling. Well, usually, the parents you really want to talk to don't come. And then there are the parents who only want to hear how great their kids are and then there are the stressful parents. Those who want to bargain for a better grade. Most of the time those arrive in pairs of two and then start to play good cop / bad cop, whereas the mother usually takes over the part of the good cop, telling you how much her offspring studied and that she understands you, but…. then the father, the bad cop, takes over. Usually, he starts off by taking notes of everything you say, just to see how you react and then he talks about his job, something influential and threatening, like an attorney, a member of the ministry of education or – Sith forbid - he has a doctorate in your subject and tells you that your lessons are not up to modern standards. And then there are other parents, "special parents" and today's meeting definitely belonged into that category. Those parents held real power. They were politicians or criminals or simply had enough money to make your life pretty damn uncomfortable. They had so much power that one of their calls could easily send you to a backwater planet where you could never come back from, where you had to wait for days whenever you ordered something and where the chances of a career were close to non-existent. With dread he remembered some of the job advertisements he had seen in the staff room – those in the Unknown Regions and war zones. Those your boss joked about, without being serious. Was he afraid? No. How could he be? He had done this for so many years that he would not be intimidated - by anyone. So when a nice female colleague had offered to come along, he had, of course, said no. He was beyond this - he didn't care. He knew what he was doing, he had done this for….. Oh dear…. Where had the years gone? After some time, you start to count decades and not the years and when you look at photos, you simply can't believe that those had been taken 10 years ago because it still feels like yesterday. Yes, it was time to admit it, he had done this for a long, very long time. Yet today could be special. Today could be one of the parents' evenings that you would not forget. He looked once more at the next name on his tight schedule - Grand Admiral Thrawn. It was almost laughable. Now HE had to educate a bloody Grand Admiral about how to educate a child about proper Imperial ideology! Of all the students in the school, it couldn't have been any worse. The class teacher had told him that Victoria had only recently moved to her uncle and that her father had died and that, most likely the Grand Admiral only had little time for the child. But rules on this school were for everyone. Grand Admiral Thrawn. That name alone sounded intimidating. A word of this man could burn cities to the ground…

Suddenly, the door opened and a blue figure entered the room. Mr Grise got up and shook the man's hand.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Thrawn."

The man just nodded, sat down and, just like most parents, said nothing, which was a good thing. So, now at least, he could explain the incident from his point of view.

"…so you see." He said after a while. "As her teacher, it is my responsibility to make sure that the school values apply for everyone and are respected by everyone. The other students are well aware of the fact that Yuna is your niece, which makes the whole case a little ….touchy."

The man opposite him was remarkably quiet. He had put his finger-tips together and his red eyes bored right into him.

"I understand." He said finally. "I will deal with it."

Mr. Grise was not entirely sure how satisfied he was with that answer, as ' I will deal with it´ left more than a little room for interpretation.

Without a warning, the Chiss stood up. For him, apparently, the conversation was over.

"Thank you for your time."

"No, thank you."

Well, all in all, that had been a lot easier than anticipated.

"What were you thinking? Speaking out against the Empire like that?"

"But…" She was obviously not used to this. "What Palpatine did was wrong. The Empire isn't perfect. You know that!"

Her father said something in a language she didn't understand but was fairly sure that it was a curse.

He shook his head, pulled over a chair and sat down next to the girl.

"I take it Palpatine is not alive where you come from?"

Yuna nodded.

"Well, here he is and you should be _very_ careful what you say."

"But…"

He lifted a finger to interrupt her.

"Let me finish." There was a short pause. "Perfection is a dangerous illusion, Yuna and it is easy for someone your age, who knows precious little about the clone wars, to criticize the Emperor and the choices he made. It was a terrible time and the people longed for a strong ruler to bring law and order. Palpatine was that man. Were his actions harsh and violent? Yes. Were they necessary? Absolutely. It was war and the Old Republic with its multiple species, multiple viewpoints and multiple racial philosophies, was simply not capable of handling the situation, which had gotten totally out of hand."

Yuna's lips had turned into a thin line.

"And always remember the only way to avoid criticism is to do nothing. Did he do everything right? Of course not. No one does. Some people say that the military has too much power, but a strong navy might very well be the only thing that stands between us and utter destruction. You would not believe the things I have seen in my time in the Unknown Regions. There are things out there that are truly and utterly evil and only a united, strong Empire with an efficient military can keep those forces at bay."

"I know…" Yes, she had heard that story before.

"But I always thought you wanted me to think for myself and to be critical."

"I guess I would want that…It is definitely good to be able to think independently and out of the box, to formulate your own opinions and draw your own conclusions, to see the connections behind what is being said and done, and to be open to other viewpoints and opinions. But these a different times Yuna. Before you were taught at home. Now everything you say and do will reflect back on me and most likely it will also be reported to ISB. And I also do not want you to take liberties the other students don't have, as I myself faced my fair share of that."

"So you want me to shut up when they tell rubbish about the Empire and Palpatine?"

"I want you to carefully think about the consequences of such behaviour _before_ opening your mouth."

"Maybe I did think about the consequences?" Yuna glared at the water bottle on the table in front of her.

"I very much doubt that."

**TBC**

**Familiar poison**

**A/N:** OK, this time I tried to write every scene in accordance to a special song or two. I also included parts of the lyrics. The very first scene was inspired by "Familiar taste of poison" by Halestrom and "Tennesse Whiskey" by KeKe Wyatt.

**NOW**

****Familiar poison****

"Why did you never return to him?"

Leia closed her eyes and was happy that she was standing with her back to him.

There was poison in their relationship.

"I put that part of my life behind me. And I wanted him to remember me the way I was – back then."

She took a sip of wine from her silver goblet.

"Did you expect me to return to him?"

"I did. Either that or take him as a lover."

Oh, what a familiar poison in her veins. You think you are over it, but in the end, the numbers don't count. You are who you are. The core never changes.

Leia turned half-way around and smiled.

"Thank the stars your standards do not apply to all of us."

Poison. It would never leave.

Leia took another sip. She had tried hard to separate sex from emotion, it hadn't worked. But there was no need for him to know that.

"Does it bother you?"

"You're as smooth as Tanalian Whiskey." Leia hissed, knowing full well that it was anything but.

"I'm hardly threatened by your mistresses… models and artists…" Leia shook her head. "One was a holo star, wasn't she? Probably swooning and cooing all over you."

"They have other talents too."

"I am sure they do." Leia turned back to the viewport. It was familiar by now. The poison. And one night or two wouldn't change a thing.

"You are avoiding the question."

"No, they don't bother me. Just … do not bring them home."

Poison.

He nodded.

All of their promises had been broken a long time ago anyway. She put the goblet down and reached for her husband. At least that she could permit now, acknowledge it. He was the familiar poison she no longer wanted to fight.

Leia placed a light kiss on his thin lips.

"Good and now kill my enemies for me, Mitth'raw'nuruodo."

"With pleasure, my Empress."

The explosion and the overlapping shockwaves rippled through space like ribbons of deadly smoke and the ring of space mines had been laid out long ago. Now they would micro jump in and the trap would shut.

Leia looked at the lights of the strategical display and the Chiss nodded.

With a swift movement, she pushed a button.

"_Brave soldiers of the Empire, now the table will turn. This is a historic event for the Empire. The day we defeat the _Grysks_ once and for all. But it will come at a price. Thus, turn your hearts into steel, so that they can withstand the firestorm that is to come. Make them hard and immovable, like our enemies have been to _us_ so that no mercy shall be bestowed upon them. And do not quiver at the sight of the sea of our enemy's blood, for it is the blood of our people being spared. With _this_, we shall eradicate our enemy from the face of the galaxy. And…may the Force be with you."_

Thrawn raised an eyebrow.

"Good speech."

A small smile flashed on her face. "I wasn't raised a princess for nothing."

The light became slightly darker now and then she saw it. His familiar poison. War. He was addicted to it and Leia wasn't sure whether or not he realized it. It was like something unfamiliar to her took hold of him. Now he was an Imperial War Lord, not her husband, not Mitth'raw'nuruodo. Just a very efficient killing machine and he liked it. She had once read that there was no feeling comparable to the thrill of war, for going after the enemies, of outsmarting them, of killing them. It was such a dark, animalistic feeling, not many soldiers admitted to it. But she could feel it was there. An adrenaline rush, making all of them hyperaware of what was going on.

The lines became stars again. And Leia recognized the by now familiar star cluster.

"Capital ships coming in." Pellaeon said only seconds later. "And they are beginning to launch fighters."

"Acknowledged, Captain. Begin suppression barrage and bring out the TIEs to the assigned engagement zones." Thrawn ordered.

Leia looked around. He had this under control and though she understood a fair bit of naval tactics by now, she was nowhere near as competent as her husband. But there were other things she could do.

Without a word, the woman turned around to leave.

"Where are you going?" The Chiss inquired brusquely.

"I have decided to engage the enemy myself."

"Leia, I do not …"

She raised a hand to silence him. _Was he concerned about her safety? Or did he just not like it, from a strategic point of view?_ It didn't matter.

"Your objection has been noted, Admiral. But, luckily, I do not need your permission."

**A/N:** The next scene was inspired by "Get Low" by Dillon Frances and DJ Snake and "Payback" by Juicy J, Kevin Gates, Future & Sage the Gemini.

With long strides, Leia walked into the hanger bay. Dressed in her tight, black TIE fighter uniform, helmet in hand and followed by her most trusted, personal squadron. This was her addiction. Time seemed to stand still, while the Empress marched to her fighter.

Here she felt like herself. This was such an integral part of her that was not forced on her, not trained into her. She took a deep breath and the smell of singed hair, burned plastic and invisible chemicals and fuel prickled in her nose. Good.

Specialists, repair crews and other pilots made way and nodded silently in her direction. Paying their respects to the living legend, walking past them. Lady Vader. Empress of the known Galaxy.

With one swift movement, Leia put on the helmet. She couldn't wait to get out there. To the front line. To the fight. A gift she had, no doubt, inherited from her father.

The helmet automatically filtered out the sounds of the deck and she was connected to mission control. Emergency equipment was hauled into the fighter and she listened in to some of the bridge's commands. But she did not need this. The Force was her ally and it was a strong one.

With a hiss the door closed. Leia buckelt up and then activated all the necessary systems.

"Black Tulip online and ready. Permission to leave?"

"Permission granted. Good hunting, My Empress."

"Thank you, ensign." She switched the channels.

"Boys, the game is on. There will be no survivors."

She didn't wait for the reply and shot out of the hanger, her escort following in tight formation.

Leia felt the bottom of her stomach drop. Yes… She grabbed the control stick tighter and let the Force take over. There was white-hot rage rushing through her veins. Death was coming.

The first red salved destroyed a fighter.

_You wanted war, you got war. This was payback._

Finally.

She rolled in high speed through tiny masses of metal and fire and explosions, in dead silence.

"Three raiders on 3 o'clock." She yelled into the micro and then quickly adjusted the controls. Those ships were incredibly fast.

Damn. She couldn't quite take them out. She wasn't….. No, she was a Sith…She had never run from a fight, she was fucking invincible at this! She hit the thrusters to their limit and shot at everything not looking imperial. Good KDY always had the foresight to build these things for a little more.

_This was what she had come for..._

"Black Tulip. You've got a fighter on your back!"

In an instant she flipped her TIE around, in a terrifyingly fast 180 degree turn that made her heart pause for a moment und pumped adrenaline in all her veins. Leia smiled.

_You don't know what's coming for you, my friend…_

There was a bright flash of light to her left, a silent explosion and a high-pitched scream in her helmet. One of her men was down. She didn't care.

Leia followed the Grysks with gritted teeth.

_Finger on the trigger, longing for revenge._

She fired another burst and only seconds later flew through fiery debris.

_They took away her happiness._

_This was payback._

And only the beginning.

**A/N:** Written while listening to "Animals" by Maroon 5.

He had killed his enemies with ruthlessness and intense efficiency.

"Bring the ship around and alongside target."

There was no hesitation and when more and more of the red dots went out, it felt like there was no foe superior or equal to him. And she loved him for it.

"Open fire."

There was steel in his voice and it excited her more than it should. His strength, his authority and the blatant masculinity radiating off him. The triumphant victor. Leia smiled and shook her head, it was hard to overcome basic instincts, no matter how primitive they were.

_You can't deny._

_The beast inside._

Leia smiled as she walked over to him, across the long walkway, above the crew pits.

She returned like a phoenix from the ashes. Dressed in tight black leather, every bit as lethal as her father had been….And with every enticing sway of her hips, she sliced the Chiss' self-control to shreds. What a woman. Not for the first time he marveled about her. So small, yet so powerful. His gaze fell upon the silver lightsaber handle at her side. Sometimes it was easy to forget that a mere thought of her could break his neck or squeeze his trachea shut. This little woman had just taken out approximately two dozen enemy fighters. Incredible. There was a single streak of dirt on her face, probably machine oil and her lips quirked up at the corner. She had enjoyed it. He returned her smile.

"Welcome back, my Empress. An impressive result if I my dare say so."

"You did rather well yourself, Admiral." She said when she stopped next to him. "Actually, I think a reward is in order."

"A reward?" He lifted an eyebrow and looked at her.

"Yes. I'm in a good mood. Choose whatever you want." She made a swiping gesture with her hand. "It is yours. You've earned it."

"Whatever I want?" He asked playfully.

_I'm preying on you tonight._

_Just like animals._

"That's what I said." She smiled at him. "But don't take too long. My patience isn't limitless... unlike my authority."

He actually chuckled a little.

"And other things."

_Just like animals…_

_We get along when…_

"I have no idea what you mean."

"Sir, the Grysk are hailing us."

A young man yelled from beneath them.

"Ignore them."

He put his hands behind his back and looked at the battlefield and the dying planet; TIE fighters and frigates mercilessly taking out one ship after the other.

"Now, all we have to do is wait. They will get more desperate with each passing day."

"Desperate enough to talk about Yuna?"

He nodded.

"I will make sure of that."

**TBC**

**Of fairy tales and furry pets**

****Of fairy tales and furry pets****

THEN

"You forgot my birthday!" Yuna exclaimed accusingly and crossed her arms in front of her chest. Barely back at home and another crisis. Wonderful.

"I did not." The Chiss said matter-of-factly.

"Yes, you did! Otherwise, you would have said something!"

She was so obviously hurt that it was easy to guess what had gone wrong.

"You celebrate your birthday?"

"No, I did not!"

"That is not what I meant." Thrawn put his datapad down on his desk and looked at the troubled teenager.

"You are used to celebrating your birthday and are sad that I did not consider it a special date."

"What?!" Yuna said a little tantalized.

"Chiss do not celebrate birthdays."

"But Humans do!"

"You are not Human." Somehow that hurt. Was she so used to Humans that she had forgotten about her Chiss heritage? And did her father see her as Chiss, rather than Human?

"If that is true, I'm not Chiss either."

Thrawn looked at her in silence.

"Perhaps I was mistaken. Your upbringing was obviously Human… I am sorry if my neglect caused you emotional distress. It was not intended."

"It's ok…I guess… Why do Chiss not celebrate their birthday?"

"Why do Humans? I do not know. Perhaps because there is little achievement in surviving another year."

The Chiss sighed. He hadn't lived among Humans for all those years without coming across some birthday parties. Some he had managed to avoid, some he remembered with dread. But the ritual itself was easy enough to remember.

"Alright. What do you want?"

Four hours later, Thrawn and Yuna watched a holo and tried different types of exotic food, the young girl had ordered online. For obvious reasons, Katyana was not invited.

"You have to try this!" She handed him a bowl of what looked like noodles with vegetables in a spicy sauce.

"It's really crunchy and fresh and spicy, all at the same time!"

The Chiss had to admit that Yuna had good taste. She knew a lot about different cultures and their cuisines and customs and how to eat a certain dish. And she was not shy to tell him about it in great detail.

"And mum loves this. It's called 'Honey Balls'." She said and pointed at another plate on the table.

To his surprise, he did rather enjoy this. It was certainly better than the last birthday party he had attended.

"And you'll like this here too!"

The holo was passing by, more or less in the background.

"Why did you want to watch this holo, when, by all appearances, you have seen it before?"

"Because it's one of my favorites!"

It was a children's holo of two princesses with magical powers. And one of them had a ring with which she could turn back time.

"And because one of the main protagonists can travel through time."

"She cannot travel through time!" Yuna insisted. "She can only reverse time for five minutes…. That wouldn't help me at all…. And it's just a fairy tale." Yuna said gloomily.

"Actually, I have heard a fairy tale of my own very recently. It was told by Minister Veris Hydan of the ministry of antiquities. He's excavating the remains of an old Jedi Temple on Lothal at the moment, which happens to fall under my jurisdiction."

"A Jedi Temple? I've never heard of that."

"Probably because most of them were destroyed during the purges. Jedi temples were built by the Jedi Order on many planets across the known galaxy. Often in remote places on planets that harbored kyber crystals, which they needed for their lightsabres and, allegedly, other weapons too. The most famous Temple, however, exists here on Coruscant and I am certain you know it."

"No, I don't."

Thrawn chuckled quietly.

"Imperial Palace, little one."

"Why would the Emperor build his palace on a Jedi Temple? He hates the Jedi!"

"Coruscant's history is a long one, Yuna, and prominent buildings are usually built on prominent places. The same is true for Imperial Palace, as the Jedi Temple that predates it was built upon the ruins of an ancient Sith Shrine. Apparently, the Jedi had done so in an attempt to neutralize the shrine's dark energy." He smiled and took a sip of his drink. "Now there are rumours that they weren't quite successful in this venture so that the Dark Side was able to weaken the Order until Darth Vader could wipe them out."

Yuna gaped at her parent with an open mouth.

"I can't believe I've never heard that story before….Do you think that's true?"

"I do not know. I acknowledge the Force, but I am afraid its ways will always be a mystery to me. What I do know, however, is that people often look for a reason why things ended up the way they did and to blame the Dark Side instead of the multitudes of flaws of the Jedi Order is the easy way out."

Yuna nodded. "I guess you are right….How many Jedi Temples were there?"

"Quite a few. The most famous ones were on Coruscant and Ossus. Others were secret and still others were forgotten over time. Some of which are rediscovered as we speak, like the one on Lothal."

"And why is the Emperor so interested in them?"

"To my knowledge, the Force is the Force, no matter who calls upon it on those places hold power and are deeply connected to the Force. Therefore, it is only natural that Palpatine is curious. All people crave power and those how have it, are afraid to lose it and therefore crave even more power."

He looked into his glass.

"And here we come to the fairy tale Minister Hydan told me….he believes the Jedi Temple on Lothal is a gateway through time and space."

"Really? Dad, that's exactly what we are looking for!"

He shook is head.

"I did not call it a fairy tale for no reason."

"So you do not believe in it?"

"If such a thing would exist, the Jedi would have used it. The Old Republic too. So no, I do not believe in its existence. What I do believe in, however, is Imperial funding and he, Hydan, wants it just as much as Tarkin wants it and I want it…and telling Palaptine about some Jedi super-weapon might help him to get it. The only question is: Why does the Emperor buy it? As far as I know, he even talks to Hydan on a regular basis."

"So it might be true after all?"

"I doubt it. But who knows? The Force has surprised me more than once. Usually not in a good way."

Yuna giggled.

"I know. You and the Force. That will never work. But there's always Myrkr."

He looked at her in silence.

"Oh no…you haven't been on Myrkr yet, right?"

"No, I have not."

Yuna looked at her half-emptied bowl.

"I don't think it will make much of a difference. You will look now anyway…" And she would feel a lot safer with a Ysalamiriin the house too.

"On Myrkr lives your future pet." She said and beamed all of a sudden. "His name is Monty." There was a short break. "Well, I guess he's not even an egg yet, but there will be a Monty at some point. I named him by the way."

"My _pet_?" Of all the things he had anticipated, this was not it.

"Yes, he's a Ysalamiri. That's a yellow, furry lizard, about 50 centimeters long. Monty is really cute and he can do tricks! Sometimes he is a bit smelly too, but only when it's about to rain."

"Why should I want to keep a smelly reptile in my house?"

"Because it repels the Force. It creates a Force-free bubble of about ten meters all around it."

"That sounds indeed useful."

"Doesn't it? You said it makes you sleep a lot better. But I guess that was more…yeah…well…anyway…" She took another bite.

Looked like both of them got an unexpected present on this belated birthday party…

**TBC**

**The voyage home and getting to know each other**

**The voyage home and getting to know each other**

**NOW**

Everyone knew that interrogation was just a euphemism for "torture" within the Empire and Leia didn't like it. Not only because she had once been subjected to it and knew how it felt, but also because of what it did to the person who carried it out. Such acts were bound to leave a mark on the sole. Therefore, she had chosen not to witness it. At least not now. Not this time.

She sat in her black, silk nightgown at her desk and looked out at the stars, while reading through some of the reports, slowly drinking her herbal tea. Suddenly, the door opened and her husband entered.

"How did it go?"

He opened his white uniform jacket and carelessly threw it on the floor.

"Not now." He said and walked straight into the shower.

Leia heard the familiar sound of rushing water and carefully reached out for the Chiss' mind.

"I take that as a bad sign." She whispered.

Not that she had placed too high hopes on the interrogation. The Gyrsks' warrior culture, rooted deeply in pride and strength, would never have allowed it for them to give in. No matter the cost. And she had to respect them for it. As, of course, they were right to do so. They would never have let them go…

Leia picked up the jacket and noticed some blood stains on its right arm. Not a lot of blood, but enough to make her swallow. Thrawn usually wasn't one to make his hands dirty, but apparently, the last couple of months had left their mark upon him too.

She threw the jacket into the laundry shaft and then looked at the chrono. 23.21 hours. She really should go to bed now. The final briefing was due at 06.00 hours the next morning.

"Light down to 10%" she said softly and then lay down.

The Chiss followed her about 10 minutes later.

"Lights out." He said and then looked at the stars that were flying by.

Leia turned around and hugged his middle section.

"What's wrong?"

He remained silent for a while.

"He died…His heart gave in."

Her fingers traced the muscles of his torso underneath the grey T-Shirt.

"Do you think he knew anything?"

"If he did, he was the best liar I ever met."

"Then why are you so gloomy?"

He sighed and looked down at her.

"I am not gloomy. I just had hoped for a different outcome."

Leia's eyes interlocked with his. They had spent more time on board this ship together than they had during the last 13 years of their marriage. And somehow the realization made her sad. She didn't really know him. At least now, after seeing what he did, day in day out, she understood him a little better. At least she thought so. He was a remarkable man, but the war, the loss of his only child and the burden of command were slowly, but surely, becoming too heavy for him. He had started to work again too soon after the attack, he was tired and agitated and he drank too much. And there were dark circles under his eyes...

"The war is over. And we have won."

She felt him kiss her hair and rest his cheek against her head.

"Yes."

_Yes - and still victory felt bitter. _They both had made many sacrifices for this. Too many.

"It is over and there is more to life than duty."

"What are you talking about?"

"I…" Leia swallowed. "I would…let you go, you know?"

"I am not your prisoner."

"That's not what I mean." She sighed. "You once said that you had planned to return to your people."

"I had. Initially. But, somehow, things got out of control." He stroked her hair. "Mitth'raw'nuruodo." He said and pronounced the name with the proper Chiss inflection. "It sounds foreign even to me now. Like a name from a former life. I am not that man anymore."

"It's the name of your true self. You have only forgotten. I cannot begin to imagine how it feels to be the only Human within an alien society."

"It was difficult at times." He confessed.

She hugged him once more and put her head on his chest.

"The threat to your people has been dealt with.…If you should choose to go now, I won't stop you." He had given so much. Perhaps more than she had. And his people? They probably had no idea what this man had done for them. He could go home. Live the life he had envisioned once. He deserved this. He deserved to be happy.

"You will always be welcome and the Empire shall never forget your service…. I promise to come when you need me. When your people need me. That is the least I can do."

"If the Empire still exists, that is. Without a common enemy, civil war is imminent and you need me to keep the forces in line."

"My strongest opponents are gone and most systems are pacified and secured. I will manage."

"I have not given up on her, you know?"

_Yuna…_

"Me neither, but…"

"Then stop talking like that!"

He interrupted her sharply. He rarely did such a thing. Another sign that he was feeling the pressure. That he was… _scared? _If such a thing was even possible.

Leia bit her lower lip. Better not deepen this.

"Alight. Good night then."

THE NEXT MORNING - CHIMAERA - WAR ROOM - FINAL BRIEFING

"So we can go home now?" Leia asked and took a sip of her tea.

"Yes. Actually, we are already on our way back to the core."

"Without consulting me?"

"Do you wish to go somewhere else?"

No. But that wasn't the point. She was the Empress and Thrawn had a tendency to take matters into his own hand. Leia felt anger boiling up in her. But he was also her husband. The double role seldom caused problems, but today it did. She would have to talk to him about this later.

"No." She put the cup back down. "When will we be back."

"The Chimaera is still suffering from the first battle, Mam." The chief engineer said while pouring himself some steaming-hot coffee. "It might take a bit longer than coming here. But it's hard to say how long. Perhaps two weeks longer might also be a month."

Leia nodded.

"If it can't be helped."

"Actually, I would like to suggest a little detour."

Leia raised an eyebrow in surprise, while Thrawn activated a viewscreen.

"ILM. One of the Empire's largest metal suppliers, its products are used by the weapons industry mostly. I would like to see it."

"Out of personal interest?" Leia asked, not without a note of spite. She was still angry and could easily refuse him now. It would serve him right.

"Yes. As well as professional interest. An inspection is long since overdue."

"It is usually not a good idea to stay away from the capital for too long." Her eyes met his.

On the other hand, he had done the galaxy a great favor. If he wanted to see this boring factory. Why not?

"But since we are late anyway, I guess visiting this factory won't make much of a difference." Leia shut the folder and stood up.

"If there isn't anything else, gentlemen. I'll do my job and navigate us home."

TWO WEEKS LATER ILM

After entering through the huge entrance gate, it felt like walking through time. There was a huge, old water tower and buildings that were hundreds of years old. Actually, there were so many different styles of architecture that it turned out to be a rather bizarre mix, but an impressive one none the less. Over the largest building on their right, hung a huge golden clock and there were many hovercars going from one side of the factory to the other, carrying heavy goods and highly toxic chemicals. And there were many workers too, from all kinds of species. Some on tiny speeder bikes, other talking to mining droids, slowly passing in their orange overalls, black steel-toe boots, and white helmets. The larger, and partially still hot, metal coils were usually on enormous fork-lifters. Leia took the exterior of the buildings in. Most of them seemed to come from the time before the Clone Wars, but there were older ones too. Some even had the construction year engraved over the entrance. But there were some modern buildings too. Totally made out of glass and steel. No wonder Thrawn had suggested this place. He was really into architecture.

"If you would follow me, please." A young human man in a black leather jacket told them. He was obviously the leader of their little entourage and accompanied by only another young man with a pair of huge horn-rimmed glasses and a smaller man if you could even call him that. Leia guessed he was barely twenty.

They were brought into the conference room of the modern main building. Where they met the senior staff and got a little briefing about the company. About half a dozen times they told them how honored they were by their visited but everyone was rather nervous and a lot felt improvised, which wasn't all too surprising if one considered the fact that they hadn't announced their visit. After all, what good was an inspection if it was announced two months in advance?

"If we had known, we would have prepared, but under these circumstances, I'm afraid we can only offer standard security measures."

"Standard will be fine, Mr. Gordon." Thrawn appeased the man.

"Yes." Leia added. "We were merely curious and your factory happened to be on our route. There is no need to worry." This, of course, did little to ease their fears.

"Of course my Empress, but it can be rather dangerous here and, I'm afraid, you have to wear special clothes. So if you would please follow me."

They went out into the hallway, where they found enormous wardrobes with boots, high visibility vests, helmets, and protection glasses.

"This is for your own safety." The man in the leather jacket said as he handed them their protection clothes. "The helmets include microphones too. Without them, it's too loud in the production halls. And your bodyguards have to stay here or leave their weapons behind, as some of the chemicals might react with them." He pointed at Leia's lightsaber. "That too."

Leia sighed, but then nodded and gave them all their equipment.

And then they were already on their way to the first hall, where Leia curiously studied the workers again. Interesting people and so different from the people she usually worked with. Most of them controlled droids or flew by, to carry information to other stations or buildings.

"As you can see here," the little man with the glasses said "this is where we keep the raw material and then it goes from here into one of these white tanks. There they are heated, mostly with gas, which you can also see on our bills, it's quite an enormous sum I'm afraid… Anyway, here we heat up the metal and then it comes out right here." Andrew, the man with the glasses, and Thomas the guy with the leather jacket, explained and then one of them pressed a button. Red hot iron came pouring in before a large compactor pressed it into its new form under two-thousand mega-newton.

"This is one of the strongest compactors in the galaxy. But we can build almost everything here, from guns to droids to cables."

They changed into another hall, where they produced finer electronics. And where, thankfully, it was a lot cooler. Again, everyone was working busily and Leia was actually told off once when she headed towards a gate. Apparently, humans were only allowed to use the doors, as all gates were equipped with security shuts, which, in case of a fire, came down in milliseconds, crushing everything underneath them. Everywhere were signs prohibiting the touching of random metal (which could still be hot) and to Leia's surprise the factory also had their own fire department, which was fun to visit. But there were also containers filled with chemicals which burnt in your nose and heavy dark smoke covered the whole site. Leia mustered her husband, who listened attentively to everything the two young men had to say.

At one point, he seemed to be captivated by a heavy metal fence.

"And what's so special about that?"

He smiled.

"Nothing, besides that it is Chiss. I know those fences from Academy. I guess it is what your humans call a blast from the past. It reminded me of something. Well, we are still close to the Unknown Regions, so I guess I should not be too surprised to see it."

Leia smiled. It wasn't often that he talked about his past.

"Admiral Ar'alani made us visit as many construction sites as possible. She said it was vital to understand the material and the production process of our ships and weapons. In hindsight, I agree." He looked around. "I find it highly interesting to see that the factory is not working on its full capacity, even though we are still officially in the middle of a war."

Leia nodded. She had noticed that too.

"Yes. Well, I would like to visit the cafeteria now."

"We are in one of the most famous construction sites of the Empire and after merely two hours, all you want to see is the cafeteria?"

"Yes. I'm hungry."

"I am sure there are better places to dine on this planet than a cheap factory cafeteria."

"Yes, but my primal human needs are quite strong and demand satisfaction now. So why don't you have your fun down here, while I inspect the contents of the cafeteria."

He shook his head. Women.

About an hour later he joined her in the cafeteria.

"Coffee?"

"No thanks."

He pulled back the white plastic chair opposite Leia.

"And how did you find it?"

"A nice change to the routine." Leia played with her cake fork.

"Did you notice how young all these people are?"

"They are not unusually young, Leia."

"Really? How old are they? 20? Handling highly explosive materials?"

"Things here are different. Either you work or you hunger."

She shook her head.

"It makes me uncomfortable. They don't have enough experience."

"Perhaps we are just getting old. That's why we notice. You were 19 when you joined the Imperial Senate and I was also unusually young when I got my first command. I reckon there were many people who thought we were too young for the responsibilities that were bestowed upon us."

"I don't feel old. Thanks for the compliment by the way."

"That was not how I meant it." He took her hand and brought it to his lips. Leia smiled. He would never have done that on Coruscant. Or anywhere in the Core. And she would not have allowed it. It was nice to be normal.

"I know." She said.

**TBC**

**Matchmaking never works**

Yuna sat in his office and the modern leather chair was so large, her legs dangled above the floor.

"I was at Tilly's yesterday." She said casually. "I helped her with trade languages."

"I know." The Chiss explained while studying the computer screen.

"You do?" The young girl asked, eyes wide open.

"You will find, that there is little I am not aware of."

"Great! So you are spying on me?"

The Chiss looked at her and smiled.

In spite of what he had said the day she had arrived, Thrawn had become quite attached to the child, and, for whatever reason, felt the need to protect her, although she was not yet born.

"I look after you."

"That's just euphemism!" She frowned and folded her arms in front of her chest while trying to look as stern as possible.

Then the newsflash on the screen in the living room, which was visible through the open door, caught her attention. The Alderaanian Princess had managed to negotiate a good employment deal for her people today.

"That's a big thing isn't it?"

"A remarkable accomplishment for someone her age." He said, trying to sound as neutral as possible.

_Princess Leia. His future wife._

A smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. He had watched her closely ever since he had figured out the truth, and he could honestly say that he felt nothing towards her. She was a young and gifted senator, from a noble Core family and she seemed to be intelligent too, even though most of her political ideas were naïve at best. But there was nothing desirable about her – yet. But he couldn't deny that the Princess had potential. She was young and already held a position of power and he had even gone as far as to admit that there was a promise of future beauty there as well. However, the emphasis definitely lay on the word `future´.

He really shouldn't care. He shouldn't know. He shouldn't even think about it. Still… it was hard not to, when the proof of what was to come was sitting right in front of him.

_He and the Princess of Alderaan? _It was hard to imagine and it would be even harder for her if she were to know. After all, Alderaan and the Empire weren't exactly on good terms. Lost in thought, he flicked his lightpen between his fingers. Parck had once told him that female Humans often married men that were like their fathers. He was nothing like Bail Organa. On the other hand, it was an open secret that the Princess had been adopted and Parck hadn't elaborated on such a constellation. The Chiss briefly wondered about the Princess' biological parents. _Surely the royal couple hadn't chosen any child…_

"I think you should congratulate Mum." Yuna said, and with that unceremoniously pulled him out of his thoughts.

_`Mum´. _The Chiss seemed to struggle with himself for a moment before speaking.

"Yuna, you should refrain from calling her `Mum´… You might say it without thinking and that surely would cause some confusion."

She bit her lower lip.

"And it makes you uncomfortable." She added, sounding sad.

_Was she really his flesh and blood?_ She was so vulnerable. But also very good at reading him, which really shouldn't surprise him, but then again this whole time travel thing was bound to cause headaches sooner or later.

The Chiss sighed.

"Yes." He said and studied the face that looked so much like his own.

"One of many reasons this poorly executed matchmaking attempt of yours is a waste of time."

"Ha ha." She was silent for a moment, only to then carry on like nothing had happened.

"I know she likes you."

Thrawn put the datapad aside and looked at the wall behind the girl. "I have had enough of this nonsense."

No one had ever told him how hard it was to deal with a child.

"But…"

"The answer is no."

"Mum said she had always respected you and thought you were a brilliant man."

"That is not what makes a marriage, Yuna!" Suddenly she looked away and sulked.

He sighed. "But you might be too young to understand that." He then added.

She was manipulating him or at least tried to, the Chiss suddenly realized, not without some amount of surprise. She was acting and the funniest thing about it was that she was 100% sure it would work. It was sweet and the concept of manipulating others certainly wasn't foreign to him, but what did this say about him as a father?

He actually chuckled quietly. There were precisely two answers to that question and none of them was exactly pleasing.

"What is wrong?"

"Strange that you suddenly ask this because usually, it's all about _you. _How you feel about it, how you think about it. Well, guess what? It's hard for me too! To see that you hate my mother!"

"I do not hate your mother."

"Why do you refuse to talk to her then? I know you have to go to the Senate this afternoon, so I can go to her and say `congratulations´ and you just accompany. Or look after me…. It surely wouldn't hurt to be nice to her before the wedding."

If it hadn't been for years of self-control, he would have laughed. This child of his was unbelievable - and very persistent.

"Please."

She was cute, but he really shouldn't give her hopes.

"Pretty please."

Playing with the space-time continuum, was a bad idea…things were bound to get wrong.

"Daddy, _pleeeeease!"_

_Oh, come on, Mum! You have to fall in love with him for some reason, right?_

Yuna bit her lower lip, while watching them from afar. To say that they were 'uneasy' in the presence of each other was an understatement.

"Alderaan is a peaceful planet," Leia said as diplomatically as possible.

"That cannot defend itself." The Chiss countered, his red eyes drilling right into her.

"We are part of the Galactic Empire."

He smiled and took a sip of water. "Yes. You are against the military, but in case of invasion you want the military to defend you."

"Alderaan contributes to the military just as any other planet," Leia said, perhaps a little too brusquely.

"In monetary matters, it is 10% behind and when it comes to recruits the numbers are worse, and as long as the royal family does not change its public attitude towards the military that will not change."

Leia was silent for a while.

"I am quite aware of the military budget, your highness."

This wasn't going well. At all. Her mother surely wasn't the woman she would become, yet. She was so young and seemed so small compared to him. Yes, her mother was small, but somehow the way she carried herself had always hit that somehow.

Yuna let her shoulders hang. Her father had been right. Of course, he had been right.

At this point in time, they were poorly suited for one another.

"Would you like some juice?" Bail Organa asked nicely and brought her back to reality.

"Yes, thank you."

Slowly she followed him back into the front room.

_Thanks, Dad! Leave me alone with the evil War Lord!_

Leia kept on smiling while looking at the evil, albeit handsome_,_ face in front of her. His white uniform stood in stark contrast to the blue skin, the jacket's golden shoulder boards nicely emphasized his broad shoulders, he displayed a confidence she wished she had and his red eyes were filled with latent fire. A primitive sense of danger made the back of her neck prickle and sent chills running down her spine. Instinctively, she knew that he was a dangerous man in many ways, including those she couldn't even begin to imagine yet. But she wasn't frightened by it, or, better, chose not to be. In a strange way talking to the Chiss was like playing upon an exquisite violin. He answered to every touch and thrill of the bow perfectly. He was very well educated, eloquent, polite and witty if he chose to be and Leia had no doubt that there was a very sharp mind behind his calm façade. He was the enemy, but she was interested, in lack of a better word. Who was this man?

"If you don't mind me asking, what are your people called? The doctor didn't know when we brought Yuna to the hospital." Leia asked, trying to change the topic.

"Chiss. But that information will gain you very little."

"What makes you say that?"

He smiled faintly. "You are Human and with that bound to feel the need to satisfy your curiosity. It is deeply rooted in your society. You need to know, to explore, to learn, but not necessarily to understand."

"I take it you are not a fan of humanity?"

"Quite the contrary, your highness."

Leia looked at the girl through the transparent view panel. The doctor had said that she was a Human hybrid, apparently, his brother had shared his fascination for humanity. Leia felt herself blush.

"Now, If you don't mind me asking, why did you support Senator Yurinac's decision to refuse funding's for Director Krennic?"

"I did not say that I supported or opposed Senator Yurinac's decision. I merely pointed out the consequences of such a decision."

"I am not a politician as you perhaps know. Politics, for the most, irritates me. But what you did there, was foolish. I can see the idealistic element in it, but you, apparently, fail see how dangerous that was."

"I did what I thought was right. I have to protect my people. To be their voice when they face danger and hardship."

He looked slightly amused.

"What's so funny about that?"

"That you consider yourself to be the voice of the public. You were raised in a castle and have no idea what hardship really means. You have nothing in common with them."

Leia sighed. This was neither the time or the place to start a fight.

"What can I say? You are a soldier and I am a politician and we come from different sides of the political spectrum. I guess we have little in common too."

He smiled ominously. "Perhaps in time, you will find that we have more in common than you might care for."

There was something in that sentence. It held a lot more meaning than how it sounded. Leia was sure of it.

"Like what?" She asked in her typical cynical manner and it sounded almost like a dare.

"For example, we were both adopted into noble families, providing us with more favorable conditions than most."

Leia looked at him in silence. She had had no idea. But then again there was little information about him.

"Yes." She said finally. "We were lucky."

"No, Princess. We were tools."

"I beg your pardon."

"Humans like to pretend to be charitable, but at the core they are predators. Same is true for the Chiss." He took a sip of water. "We were chosen for a reason. To fulfill a purpose…. and you were by no means a disappointment: You are a natural leader and a gifted politician. Do you think that was `luck´?"

Leia had never thought about it._ And why was he talking about it? Was there a plan behind it? Did he want her to think about it? Or was she being paranoid?_

And what about him? Her purpose was clear: She was a crown princess and with that supposed to rule a planet. But what had his purpose been? And had he been a "disappointment"?

Yuna almost dropped her drink.

_What was he doing?! She was gone for what? Three minutes? And now he was about to unravel her mother's family secret?! Blast it all! She had to stop this. Mum could not know about Vader yet! What if she started to investigate now? What had she done?! What had she been thinking! _

Yuna walked straight over to them and as much as she had tried to bring them together before, she now wished to separate them.

"I want to go now…I…have a headache."

The Chiss raised an eyebrow.

"A headache?"

"Yes, it's terrible. We have to go."

"I am afraid that is not possible. I have an important appointment."

"But I have a headache!"

"I doubt the Emperor will be impressed."

"You're meeting the EMPEROR?!"

_Oh no! No! No! No! This was not good! Not good AT ALL!_

**TBC**

**Back to the Future**

**THEN, CORUSCANT SPACE PORT**

"I'm not leaving my cabin!"

Thrawn looked at the locked door and shook his head.

"Hiding here is childish. You could wait outside, or go to the visitors' room. There they have a nice exhibition about the beginnings of the senate and there is a section for children too. You could…"

"No! I'm staying here. You have no idea what…. And being scared of the Emperor is NOT childish, NOT being afraid of him is stupid."

A small smile crossed the Chiss face. She had a point there. But this behavior was highly irrational. Even for her.

"You never met him. Palpatine is a very powerful man, one you should not cross, however, you will find that most stories about him are ridiculously exaggerated. In the end, he is a reasonable man with a plan."

"If that's what you believe, be my guest – good the two of you get along. But I have no intention of making his acquaintance. Thank you."

The Chiss sighed and checked his chrono. There was no time to change her mind anyway.

"Alright. You will stay here, on board this shuttle. I'll be back in about two hours."

With that, he left.

A couple of hours later, Yuna was skipping through her comic. It was mindless entertaining and boring. And on top of that, she was hungry. She yawned, quickly rubbed her eyes, hopped out of her seat and then froze. Her eyes were fixed on a small, dark figure, right in front of her shuttle, surrounded by stormtroopers. He was old, perhaps 83, Human, had almost unnatural blue eyes and wore a gold-framed, black hood. There was no mistaking him. Veris Hydane. It felt like yesterday her father had told her about him. _This couldn't be a coincidence! Perhaps he was on his way to Lothal? To the time portal?_

Today had shown her once more how dangerous it was to play with time. _What if the Emperor had noticed her? What if he had read her mind?_ All the information there would have been more than enough to change history forever – for the worse. She had to leave. And this might very well be her chance.

She ran to the door, but then stopped. She couldn't just leave, could she? Her father would look for her. She had to say goodbye somehow.

Quickly she gripped a datapad.

"_I found my way back home. Don't search for me. We will see each other again. Thanks for everything. Yuna."_

She wanted to add a row of xs and os and just couldn't. Wrong time. Wrong Dad. She wanted to go home.

**NOW, THARAWN'S QUARTERS, CHIMAERA**

It was dark and only the stars eliminated the room. Leia stood in front of the viewport when he wrapped his arms around her from behind and kissed her head. Despite her spirit, her fighting skills, and her bravery, she was actually quite small. Sometimes he kept forgetting that. Kept forgetting that she was tiny. And pregnant.

She still hadn't said a thing and he had had his suspicions for weeks now. She had stopped drinking wine some time ago and her body had become a little softer, her skin radiated in a rosy glow, her breasts were a bit fuller and her hips a touch rounder. He inhaled her scent. She smelled different too. Like she had done all those years ago.

He could inquire at sickbay. It was his ship, if he wanted to know, they would tell him.

And suddenly, thinking about the baby while holding her in his arms - things changed. No. They had been alienated for a very long time, and now he wanted … to make things better. For the sake of all of them.

"I do not know how to ask for such things," he said quietly. "But…" he hesitated. "…are you pregnant?"

Leia sighed and closed her eyes.

"Yes." She hushed, barely audible.

"Why did you not tell me when you found out?"

Last time she had told him right away. But last time everything had been different.

"I'm…afraid I might lose it," Leia confessed. She closed her arms around herself like she was freezing. "I have been under a lot of emotional stress lately and I'm not young anymore."

She bit her lower lip. "It's saver this way. To not keep up hopes and I… I have trouble to …" She swallowed. "Yuna is still gone… and… how can I be happy? It cannot replace her. And that's what people will say. That we had to produce a replacement. But…Nothing can replace her."

"Leia." He whispered, "You are talking nonsense."

He held her tighter. "We will be happy."

"Will we?" Leia turned around and looked into his eyes. "Will we ever be happy? Truly happy?"

"Only if you give this a chance… A real chance." he put a strain of hair behind her ear. "Stop holding back and let me be your husband."

Tears were clouding her eyes. Perhaps it were the hormones, but she said `yes´.

Without a word he picked her up and carried her to the bed…

**THEN, LOTHAL, SPACEPORT**

Getting to Lothal had been easy. Hayden had traveled with lots of cargo. From excavation material, over tools to personal and everything had to be shipped and, apparently, the Emperor hadn't spared any expense. And thus, hiding on one of the ships had been easy.

_But how to get out of the highly guarded hanger bay now?_

Yuna hid behind one of the large, green cargo boxes and studied the obese guard in front of her, who was obviously more interested in the holo-screen than doing his duty, which in turn made him the perfect target.

Taking a deep breath of air, Yuna stepped out of her hiding place and carefully crept towards the man. Suddenly, it occurred to her that she had never stolen anything from someone, never mind someone carrying a blaster! Quickly she silenced the thought. _Don't think about it! There is no reason a blaster should make this job any more difficult!_

Quietly, she closed the distance to the guard and then pulled out his comlink from its holster before immediately replacing it with a small stone she'd picked up earlier. The guard never looked anywhere but the holo-screen.

A second later, she pressed down the talk button and spoke into the comlink in a deep, and hopefully male-sounding, voice.

"Intruders at the back entrance. I repeat: Intruders at the back entrance. To all units: Go there at once!" When she released the button, there was a burst of static.

It didn't take long until Yuna saw the first guards ran past her, towards the far end of the hanger bay. The guard in front of her looked around in confusion as well and then started to run too. Not quite believing her luck, Yuna tossed the comlink aside and then walked straight through the front door. She would have laughed if she hadn't been so nervous.

Outside, she took a quick look around. Lothal was one of the `better´ planets in the Outer-Rim. It was fairly rich, mostly due to its crops, metal, and mines. But it was also close to many trading ship routes and had some extensive dockyards.

All of this sounded good, alas, even now, fourteen years after the end of the clone wars, the planet was still recovering and, apparently, under strict military control.

Yuna hadn't often been off the capital and when it had happened it had always been on some diplomatic missions with her mother to nice planets with luxurious hotels. Thus, Lothal was like no planet she had ever seen. The city was modern, yet dirty and mostly grey. There weren't many huge, shiny buildings and the streets were crowded by many species and controlled by Stormtroopers. Actually, they seemed to be everywhere! _This was ridiculous!_

**NOW, VICTORY CELEBRATION, CORUSCANT**

A well-planned military parade was indeed a soul-stirring sight. Flags everywhere, marching men in full-dress uniforms, stepping smartly along with arms and regalia glittering in the sun. All of them young, good looking soldiers. TIE fighters booming through the sky, leaving cloudy trails in the colors of the Empire. AT-ATs made the earth shake, marches and hymns were played and salutes were given to High Command. Cold smiles in warm weather, while journalist praised the event with lavish words.

It was a grand show with three stages.

In the first row, there was the Imperial Box, left of it retired and high-esteemed personal of the Empire; right of it the so-called elite. In front of them the parade and on the opposite side a cheering crowd. Media droids flew all over them and through colorful confetti.

The costly splendor was magnificent and it was only the beginning of the victory celebration.

Leia swallowed. There was an appreciation here that wasn't on the battlefield. _How many young pilots, soldiers, officers had died? Wasn't this just a show of machinery of mass destruction? Her younger self had demonstrated against parades like this. And now here she was. Why? Because this was a show to the galaxy, and beyond, that they had won, that they were in control. Because it was tradition? Because it was necessary? _Her feet started to hurt, but she kept on smiling.

Later on, after the state banquet, the guests mingled with their entourages in the great hall, the large ballroom and all of the public reception rooms, while superb classical music was being played in the background.

Luke took a sip of champagne and then leaned against the wall, next to the Chiss.

"And finally, it is up to me to congratulate you."

"Thank you. But we wouldn't have been able to do this without you holding position here."

Luke took another sip. "Don't worry. But I'm happy she's back. I'm not cut out for this."

"I take it the child is yours?" He said after a while and nodded towards Leia.

_How did he…? Of course, he knew. Luke always knew…_

"The answer to that would be `yes´, unless you think I would let anyone else impregnate my wife." The Chiss answered sarcastically.

"I thought I better ask after you were so insistent that she doesn't like you."

Luke smiled at the man in front of him and then whispered an "I told you so" over the glass' edge, before leaving for the bar again.

Thrawn shook his head. _He would never be comfortable with the Force._

His gaze fell upon Leia. She was tired and unhappy. She disliked everything about this. But she kept on going. She was doing a good job. She always did … It would be a long evening.

**THEN, LOTHAL**

Everyone on Lothal knew about the large, Imperial excavation side and it had been easy to get here. Yuna peeked through her binoculars. Buy the looks of it, Minister Hydan hadn't made much progress. The entrance was still closed and judging by the heavy machinery it looked like they planned to blow their way inside. But she doubted Palpatine would approve.

"What are you doing here?" A dark voice said.

Yuna turned around and looked at a _wolf_?!

She took a step backward.

_By the seven hells of Mustafa – what was going on here?!_

_A wolf! A huge, white wolf! And it could speak?!_

Before she could react, the wolf had grabbed her by the shirt and carried her behind another large rock.

"What?! No! Let go of me!" She yelled, but it was to no avail.

Then it let her fall and the young girl hit the ground with a loud bump.

Still in shock, Yuna looked up to the massive animal.

_Was this a Loth-wolf? _She had read about them once, but they were a myth!

"I'm a Loth-wolf. I'm one with the Force and the Force is with me. What do you seek, child?" The wolf rumbled and Yuna swallowed hard. _It was part of the Force? Really? _She concentrated hard and reached out to it as uncle Luke had taught her.

"Yes, I can feel your strength in the Force…You are a part of it, but not like the rest of us. Your Force presence is a lot stronger."

She carefully touched the animal's mind. It was pure and honest.

"I just want to go home." She admitted. "I do not belong here. Please, read my mind, see that I'm sincere and help me."

The big Loth-Wolf laid down and looked first at her and then to the Jedi temple.

After a while, he nodded.

"The Force agrees. But only use the path that brings you home."

Yuna nodded. "I promise."

With that, the Loth-wolf closed his eyes and all of a sudden the temples' stone wall started to glow and drawings of other Loth-Wolves in a stone painting began to MOVE?! Yuna closed her eyes and reopened them again. Yes, they moved and now headed to a large boulder on her left. There, they began to run in a circle and a portal opened.

Yuna smiled and looked at the Loth-Wolf one last time.

"Thank you!"

Without a second thought, the young girl stepped through the entrance and found herself _somewhere._

_Where was she?_

Yuna looked down. The road, or whatever she was walking on, felt like water, yet it was solid, but somehow unlike anything she had walked on before. And all around her, there was nothing. Like space, but without the stars and its silence was scary in a way. There was just simple, black nothingness.

_Would she die if she were to fall off the road marked by white stripes of light? _The young girl briefly wondered. _Well, better not to try._

She looked back at her portal and then ahead again.

_Do or do not, there is no try._ She heard uncle Luke's voice in her head and with that started to walk.

Gosh, there were so many roads, led out in a very illogical fashion, that lead to thousands, if not millions of portals! This place was enormous!

Yuna walked up a long alley and then looked into the first portal of light. In it she saw her mother, dressed in her white senatorial robes in a prison cell on board the Death Star. The yearning to pull her out, to bring her to safety, was strong, but the girl remembered her promise and went on to the next portal.

It showed her father, in front of what looked like a Chiss jury. _His banishment trial?_

She must have gone in the wrong direction. This was farther in the past.

_Damn._

The young girl walked on for what felt like an eternity, but couldn't find the right portal. She was exhausted and frustrated.

"This could take forever!" She moaned and turned around again. "How am I supposed to find the right portal like this?" Perhaps she should have asked some more questions in advance.

Then, suddenly, she heard something. It sounded like - wings? Yuna looked up and

saw a glowing griffin.

"Follow me, child." The griffon said in a soft, female voice.

_Had she gone mad? At first a talking wolf and now a griffon? Was she dreaming? Or on spice? Had she met the Emperor and now he was messing with her mind? This couldn't be real, could it? _Perhaps she should have stayed in the shuttle.

"Who are you?"

"I'm the daughter. I'll bring you back home."

"The daughter?" Yuna asked confused.

"I'm one of those who guard the Force and keep its balance. We are the middle, the beginning, and the end."

Yuna had no idea what she was talking about, but as long as she would show her the right portal she didn't care.

"Ok."

Wordlessly she followed the beautiful animal for a while, before her curiosity, once more, got the better of her.

"Where is this place?"

"This is the world between worlds," she said softly. "Here there are gateways to many times and places."

After what felt like an eternity, the griffon landed on one of the portals. It showed her room on Coruscant and it was dark.

"This one is for you, young Yuna."

Yuna swallowed. _Why was she suddenly afraid? Was this the right place? Shouldn't she go back to the Senate?_

"When I go through there. How long was I gone?"

"For the same time you spend in the future….Your parents are waiting for you."

"But…Can't I go to where I came from?"

"No Yuna. Everything that has to happen has happened before and what has happened to you, happened for a reason. This is where you have to go."

"But…"

"Trust the Force. This is where you have to go."

Yuna sighed. _Trust the Force…Great…_but then she looked longingly at her bed. Home. Oh, how much she wanted to go there. Home. To mother and father and Slyther. Home. And she was so exhausted. Home.

"Thank you, Daughter."

With one giant leap of faith, Yuna stepped through the gate.

**TBC**

**A/N: **This chapter had a much quicker pace, but I really felt like I had to get forward.

**An (almost) happy ending**

**AN:**_ This here will be very short, a bit fluffy and painless. At least I hope so. I really wanted to finish this story before "Thrawn Treason" comes out because that book has the potential to change quite a lot. To be honest, I'm really looking forward to the new book, but I'm also a bit nervous. It could be great or shatter some of my ideas about my favourite character. Well, we will see… And this kind of story is dangerous as it offers far too many possible plot points. It could go on forever and that's not good for a writer like me (with very limited time)._

**An (almost) happy ending**

**THEN, THRAWN'S HOUSE, CORUSCANT**

"Where to put these, sir?" A man in a blue overall asked while pointing to the many boxes on the spotless, black floor.

The Chiss briefly looked up from his shiny glass-desk.

"Just depose of them." He said flatly and signed the bill, before handing it to the man, who seemingly had enough sense not to start a conversation.

Once the last box had gone and the door was closed behind the men, the Chiss went over to the now empty room, leaning against the white doorframe and thoughtfully looked inside.

It was astonishing how quickly he had gotten used to her and her things that had been scattered all around the house. Now it seemed… empty.

He sighed and went back to the office. He had told Katyana and the school that Yuna had moved back to the Ascendency and lived with his mother now. And interesting idea. He smiled at the thought and then sat down again. Now the last part: Videos and photos. He marked the files. All 126 of them. And then pressed 'delete´.

"_Are you sure you want to permanently delete these files?" _The computer asked.

_It really had a bad sense of humour. No. He wasn't sure…_

He looked at her smiling face once more and took a sip of water.

But then he slowly pressed the conformation and with that, all traces of her were gone. Like she had never existed. And she hadn't, not really, not yet. But she would – he was sure of it.

**NOW, YUNA'S HOME, CORUSCANT**

Leia felt her presence before she saw her.

_Could it be true?_

Without a word she went straight to her daughter's room. She started slowly, but then ran the last distance. Leia pressed down the door handle and when she saw the tiny frame cuddled up in the bed, she stopped dead in her tracks. Tears started to build up in her eyes, blurring her vision.

_Was this really her? Her little girl? Or just a dream? _She reached out with the Force. It was her, without a doubt.

Suddenly, the little girl turned around and rubbed some sleep out of her eyes.

"Mommy?"

There was no holding back now, as a tidal wave of emotions broke through all her walls. Leia rushed forward and hugged her child.

"Oh, Yuna? Is that really you?"

She pressed her little body to hers.

"Thrawn?" She called weakly, her voice still half-broken, overwhelmed by joy. Nothing. She kissed the girl's cheek once more and turned around.

"THRAWN!" She yelled this time with a lot more vigour.

**MONTHS LATER**

The Chiss sat at his desk and signed the last report. It was already dark outside, or at least as dark as it could ever get on Coruscant. He put all the data pads to the side and then heard Leia coming closer.

"She finally fell asleep. On her back, with her mouth wide open."

"A girl with many talents." He remarked dryly and she laughed.

She stopped behind him and put her hands on his shoulders.

"You are happy it's a girl... Why?"

He sighed.

"For the same reason you ask me this. Boys are raised differently… The pressure would have been enormous. Can you even imagine? Girls you can pamper and spoil without regret."

"Which you certainly do. The ungrateful task to turn them into rulers falls upon me."

"And I am sure you will do a fine job." He sighed. "I am tired."

"Speaking of spoiling the kids…Did I tell you that I plan to convert your bedroom to a second nursery?"

"And where am I supposed to sleep?" He asked, while standing up, circling the chair and pulling her to him.

"Under great personal sacrifice, and only because the kids need space, I am willing to share my bedroom with you."

"Are you?"

He smiled down at her.

"Well, for the kids I might consider it."

And then they kissed and itfelt like they were the only two people in the galaxy. The only two that mattered, anyway.

_All of that happened a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away. The war was over and they were happy, like he had promised – at least of a while…_

**THE END**

**A/N:** Thanks for reading this (crazy) story and all your positive support. I hope you enjoyed it! :)


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